(IGP) Special Current Affairs Material for IAS (Pre) 2013 - PIB "Topic: International Literacy Day"
(IGP) Special Current Affairs Material for IAS (Pre) 2013
Chapter: Gist of Press Information Bureau Articles
Topic: International Literacy Day
Q. Some facts/ data about world literacy?
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About 796 million adults worldwide were reported not being able to read and write
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Two-thirds of them (64%) were women
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The global adult literacy rate was 83%, with a male literacy rate of 88% and a female literacy rate of 79%
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More than half of those unable to read and write – 412 million – lived in South Asia.
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A further 176 million adults were in sub-Saharan Africa. Together, these two regions accounted for three-quarters (74%) of adults unable to read and write worldwide
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In almost all countries, youth literacy rates (i.e. for the population aged 15-24 years) were higher than adult literacy rates
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131 million youth worldwide lacked basic reading and writing skills among this group, 61% were female. A comparison of this share to the female share among adults (64%) indicates a move toward gender parity in literacy
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The global youth literacy rate was 89% (92% for males and 86% for females) ’” Similar to the adult population, youth unable to read and write were also concentrated in the same two regions. Southern Asia (66 million youth) and sub-Saharan Africa (47 million) were home to 86% of all youths unable to read and write worldwide.
