Literacy

The State of Education Series

March 2013

A Global Report

Summary

This presentation is divided into two sections: Youth Literacy Rates Adult Literacy Rates

It includes detailed analysis of literacy rates by regions and by genders.

Acronym Guide

Acronym Name

EAP East Asia and Pacific

ECA Europe and Central Asia

LAC Latin American and the Caribbean

MNA Middle East and North Africa

SAS South Asia

SSA Sub-Saharan Africa

WLD World (Global Aggregate)

GPI Gender Parity Index (female value/male value)

Youth Literacy

Have youth literacy rates improved over time?

Global youth literacy rates have improved from 83.3% (1985-2004) to 89.6% (2005-2010) or 6.3 percentage points.

Still, around 10% of youth emerge from education systems around the world without basic literacy skills.

All regions showed improvement in youth literacy rates over time.

SAS showed the most dramatic improvement from 58% to 79.5% -- a 21 percentage point improvement.

(continued on next slide)

Youth literacy rates have been increasing in all regions over time.

EAP ECA LAC MNA SAS SSA WLD50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

1985-19941995-20042005-2010

Yo

uth

lit

erac

y ra

te (

%).

To

tal

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, March 2013

ECA has consistently had the highest youth literacy rate ranging from 98-99%.

Over time, EAP has almost caught up to ECA’s high youth literacy levels and LAC trails closely behind. More than 97% of youth are literate in these regions.

More 25% of youth are illiterate in SSA, but this is a 6 percentage point improvement over 1985-1995.

Have youth literacy rates improved over time? (continued)

Youth literacy rates have been increasing in all regions over time.

EAP ECA LAC MNA SAS SSA WLD50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

1985-19941995-20042005-2010

Yo

uth

lit

erac

y ra

te (

%).

To

tal

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, March 2013

Which countries have the lowest youth literacy rates?

Less than half of youth are literate in Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad.

All of the countries with the lowest literacy rates are in SSA.

Of the 142 countries with data, 22 countries have youth literacy rates less than 75%. All are in SSA except for Pakistan, Haiti, and Papua New Guinea.

89 countries have youth literacy rates higher than 95%.

10 Countries with the Lowest Youth Literacy Rates

(2006-2010)

1 Burkina Faso 39.3

2 Mali 44.3

3 Chad 47.0

4 Benin 55.0

5 Ethiopia 55.0

6 Sierra Leone 59.4

7 Guinea 63.4

8 Madagascar 64.9

9 Congo, Dem. Rep. 65.0

10 Senegal 65.0

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, March 2013Note: Data were not available for 72 countries. Most recent data year is

displayed; Black = 2010; Green = 2009; Blue = 2007.

Which countries have increased youth literacy rates the most over time?

These countries have increased their youth literacy rates by 10 to 16 percentage points over time.

8 of 10 countries are in SSA.

Despite great improvement, only 4 of 10 countries have youth literacy rates higher than 75%.

Four countries’ rates worsened by more than 2% over the same period: Iraq, Madagascar, Haiti, and Congo, Dem. Rep.

10 Countries with the Most Improvement in Youth Literacy Rates

Percentage Points

Improved

1999-2004 Rate

2006-2010Rate

% Improved

1 Guinea 16.3 47.1 63.4 34.6

2 Senegal 15.9 49.1 65.0 32.4

3 Gambia, The 14.1 52.6 66.7 26.8

4 Bangladesh 13.4 63.6 77.0 21.1

5 Nepal 13.0 70.1 83.1 18.5

6 Guinea-Bissau 12.6 59.5 72.1 21.2

7 Sierra Leone 11.5 47.9 59.4 24.0

8 Eritrea 11.4 77.9 89.3 14.6

9 Ghana 10.1 70.7 80.8 14.3

10 Mozambique 9.9 61.9 71.8 16.0

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, March 2013 Notes: Data are most current available year within the time period;

Data were not available for 93 of 214 countries.

Youth Literacy Rate. Total (2006-2010)

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, 2013Note: Data displayed is for the most recent available year

The maps displayed were produced by EdStats. The boundaries, colors, denominations and any other information shown on this map do not imply, on the part of the World Bank Group, any judgment on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. The maps are for reference only.

Is there disparity between genders in youth literacy rates?

Globally, there is still a gender gap in youth literacy rates, though the gap has been shrinking over time.

There was a 8.6% difference between male and female youth literacy rates during 1985-1994.

The gender gap shrunk by 41.5% to 5.0% during 2005-2010. 92% of males were literate compared to 87% of females.

Fewer females emerge from education systems with basic literacy skills than males.

1985-1994 1995-2004 2005-201070

75

80

85

90

95

87.6

90.4

92.2

79.0

83.9

87.1

Male Female

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, March 2013

Yo

uth

Lit

erac

y R

ate

(%)

Are gender disparities in youth literacy rates decreasing?

Gender disparities between male and female youth literacy rates have decreased in all regions.

EAP, ECA, and LAC have achieved almost perfect gender parity (1.0), while MNA, SAS, and SSA lag behind.

SAS and MNA have improved greatly over time: They moved 0.17 and 0.14 closer to gender parity.

Progress in SSA has been slower with only 0.09 improvement.

Gender disparities in youth literacy rates have decreased over time in all regions.

1985-1994 1995-2004 2005-20100.65

0.70

0.75

0.80

0.85

0.90

0.95

1.00

1.05

0.90

0.93

0.95

EAP ECA LAC MNA SAS SSA WLD

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, March 2013

Gen

der

Par

ity In

dex

(GP

I) fo

r Y

outh

Lite

racy

Rat

e

Gender Parity Index for Youth Literacy Rate

(2006-2010)

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, 2013Note: Data displayed is for the most recent available year

The maps displayed were produced by EdStats. The boundaries, colors, denominations and any other information shown on this map do not imply, on the part of the World Bank Group, any judgment on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. The maps are for reference only.

Gender Parity

Male Bias

Male Bias

Male Bias

Which countries have the lowest female literacy rates? The 20 lowest female

youth literacy rates were all found in Sub-Saharan African countries except for Pakistan.

Only 1/3 of female youth are literate in Burkina Faso and Mali.

Less than half of female youth are literate in the top 5 countries.

10 Countries with the Lowest Female Youth Literacy Rates

(2006-2010)

1 Burkina Faso 33.1

2 Mali 33.9

3 Chad 40.6

4 Benin 44.6

5 Ethiopia 47.0

6 Sierra Leone 50.1

7 Senegal 56.2

8 Guinea 57.0

9 Central African Republic 58.2

10 Pakistan 61.5

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, March 2013; Note: Data points are the most recent year available: Green = 2009; Blue =

2007; Black = 2010; Data were not available for 71 countries.

Which countries have increased female youth literacy rates the most over time?

These countries have increased their female youth literacy rates by 14 to 23 percentage points over time.

8 of 10 countries are in SSA and 2 are in SAS.

Despite great improvement, only 4 of 10 countries have female youth literacy rates higher than 75%.

Haiti’s female youth literacy rate worsened over the period by 10 percentage points.

10 Countries with the Most Improvement in

Female Youth Literacy RatesPercentage

Points Improved

1999-2004 Rate

2006-2010Rate

% Improved

1 Guinea 22.9 34.1 57.0 67.2

2 Gambia, The 20.3 41.4 61.7 49.1

3 Guinea-Bissau 19.4 45.9 65.3 42.3

4 Nepal 18.2 60.1 78.4 30.3

5 Bangladesh 18.2 60.3 78.5 30.3

6 Chad 17.3 23.2 40.6 74.6

7 Eritrea 17.2 69.5 86.7 24.7

8 Senegal 15.2 41.0 56.2 37.2

9 Mozambique 15.0 50.0 65.1 30.0

10 Ghana 14.4 65.5 79.9 22.0

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, March 2013 Notes: Data are most current available year within the time period;

Data were not available for 92 of 213 countries.

Youth Literacy Rate. Female (2006-2010)

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, 2013Note: Data displayed is for the most recent available year

The maps displayed were produced by EdStats. The boundaries, colors, denominations and any other information shown on this map do not imply, on the part of the World Bank Group, any judgment on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. The maps are for reference only.

Adult Literacy

Have adult literacy rates improved over time?

Global adult literacy rates improved from 75.7% to 84.1% -- an 8 percentage point increase over time.

Still, 16% of adults have emerged from education systems without basic literacy skills.

All regions showed improvement in adult literacy rates, but MNA improved the most from 56% to 76% -- a 20 percentage point increase over time.

(continued on next slide)

Adult literacy rates have been increasing over the years in all regions.

EAP ECA LAC MNA SAS SSA WLD40

45

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

95

1001985-19941995-20042005-2010

Ad

ult

lit

erac

y ra

te (

%).

To

tal

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, March 2013

Have adult literacy rates improved over time? (continued)

ECA has consistently had the highest adult literacy rates (95%+).

More than 1/3 of adults are illiterate in SAS and SSA, but SAS improved from 46% to 62% – a 16 percentage point increase.

SSA has improved more slowly than SAS at 8.4 percentage points of improvement over time.

Adult literacy rates have been increasing over the years in all regions.

EAP ECA LAC MNA SAS SSA WLD40

45

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

95

1001985-19941995-20042005-2010

Ad

ult

lit

erac

y ra

te (

%).

To

tal

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, March 2013

Which countries have the lowest adult literacy rates?

9 of the 10 countries with the lowest adult literacy rates are in SSA. Haiti is the exception.

Less than one third of adults are literate in Mali and Burkina Faso.

Of the 149 countries with data, 20 countries have adult literacy rates less than 60% and 43 countries have adult literacy rates less than 75%.

75 countries have adult literacy rates higher than 90%.

10 Countries with the Lowest Adult Literacy Rates

(2006-2010)

1 Burkina Faso 28.7

2 Mali 31.1

3 Chad 34.5

4 Ethiopia 39.0

5 Guinea 41.0

6 Sierra Leone 42.1

7 Benin 42.4

8 Haiti 48.7

9 Senegal 49.7

10 Gambia, The 50.0

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, March 2013Note: Data were not available for 71 countries. Data are for the most recent

available year. Purple = 2006; Blue = 2007; Green = 2009; Black = 2010.

Which countries have increased adult literacy rates the most over time?

These countries have increased their adult literacy rates by 9 to 21 percentage points over time.

7 of 10 countries are in SSA.

Despite great improvement, at least 30% of adults were illiterate in all these countries except Sudan.

Haiti’s adult literacy rate worsened by 10 percentage points, and Madagascar’s by 6 percentage points.

10 Countries with the Most Improvement in Adult Literacy Rates

Percentage Points

Improved

1999-2004 Rate

2006-2010Rate

% Improved

1 Timor-Leste 20.7 37.6 58.3 55.1

2 Eritrea 15.3 52.5 67.8 29.1

3 Gambia, The 13.1 36.8 50.0 35.7

4 Guinea-Bissau 12.8 41.4 54.2 31.0

5 Nepal 11.7 48.6 60.3 24.1

6 Guinea 11.3 29.7 41.0 38.2

7 Senegal 10.4 39.3 49.7 26.5

8 Sudan 9.7 61.3 71.1 15.8

9 Ghana 9.4 57.9 67.3 16.2

10 Bangladesh 9.3 47.5 56.8 19.6

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, March 2013; Notes: Data are most current available year within the time period;

Data were not available for 87 of 214 countries.

Adult Literacy Rate. Total (2006-2010)

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, 2013Note: Data displayed is for the most recent available year

The maps displayed were produced by EdStats. The boundaries, colors, denominations and any other information shown on this map do not imply, on the part of the World Bank Group, any judgment on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. The maps are for reference only.

Is there disparity between genders in adult literacy rates?

Globally, there is still a gender gap in adult literacy rates, though the gap has been shrinking over time.

There was a 12.6% difference between male (82%) and female (69.4%) adult literacy rates during 1985-1994.

The gender gap shrunk by 29% to 8.9% during 2005-2010. 88.6% of males were literate compared to 79.7% of females.

Fewer adult females have basic literacy skills, but the gender gap has decreased over time.

1985-1994 1995-2004 2005-20100

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

82.0

86.988.6

69.4

76.979.7

Male Female

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, Mar. 2013

Ad

ult

Lit

erac

y R

ate

(%)

Have gender disparities in adult literacy rates decreased over time?

Gender disparities in adult literacy rates have decreased over time in all regions.

ECA and LAC have achieved gender parity with GPIs at 0.98.

MNA, SAS, and EAP have made the most progress by moving 0.16, 0.13, and 0.13 closer to 1.0 (gender parity) respectively.

Progress in SSA has been slower with only 0.09 improvement.

SAS, SSA, and MNA are furthest from gender parity in adult literacy.

All regions are moving closer to gender parity in adult literacy rates.

1985-1994 1995-2004 2005-20100.50

0.55

0.60

0.65

0.70

0.75

0.80

0.85

0.90

0.95

1.00

1.05

0.85 0.88 0.90

EAP ECA LAC MNA SAS SSA WLD

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, March 2013

Gen

der

Par

ity In

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(GP

I) fo

r A

dult

Lite

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Rat

e

Which countries have the lowest female literacy rates? Less than one quarter

of females are literate in the top 3 countries – Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad. Less than one third of females are literate in the top 7 countries.

All the countries on the list are in SSA except Pakistan.

Of the 144 countries with data, 19 countries have female adult literacy rates less than 50% and 70 countries have rates higher than 90%.

10 Countries with the Lowest Female Adult Literacy Rates

(2006-2010)

1 Mali 20.3

2 Burkina Faso 21.6

3 Chad 24.2

4 Ethiopia 28.9

5 Guinea 30.0

6 Benin 30.3

7 Sierra Leone 31.4

8 Senegal 38.7

9 Pakistan 40.3

10 Gambia, The 40.4

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, March 2013Note: Data were not available for 71 countries. Data are for the most recent

available year. Blue = 2007; Green = 2009; Black = 2010.

Which countries have increased female adult literacy rates the most over time?

These countries have increased their female adult literacy rates by 11 to 23 percentage points over time.

Six of the countries are in SSA; 2 are in SAS.

Despite great improvement, more than 1/3 of women are illiterate in all of these countries except Saudi Arabia.

Haiti’s rate worsened by 10.3 percentage points over time.

10 Countries with the Most Improvement in

Female Adult Literacy RatesPercentage

Points Improved

1999-2004Rate

2006-2010Rate

% Improved

1 Timor-Leste 23.0 30.0 53.0 76.5

2 Eritrea 17.3 40.2 57.5 43.1

3 Gambia, The 15.4 25.1 40.4 61.4

4 Nepal 13.5 34.9 48.3 38.6

5 Guinea-Bissau 13.1 27.5 40.6 47.7

6 Saudi Arabia 12.1 69.3 81.3 17.4

7 Guinea 11.8 18.2 30.0 64.7

8 Ghana 11.4 49.8 61.2 22.9

9 Bangladesh 11.4 40.8 52.2 27.9

10 Chad 11.4 12.8 24.2 89.0

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, March 2013 Notes: Data are most current available year within the time period;

Data were not available for 90 of 213 countries.

Adult Literacy Rate. Female (2006-2010)

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, 2013Note: Data displayed is for the most recent available year

The maps displayed were produced by EdStats. The boundaries, colors, denominations and any other information shown on this map do not imply, on the part of the World Bank Group, any judgment on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. The maps are for reference only.

This presentation utilizes the following data source:

UNESCO Institute for Statistics data in the EdStats Query The presentation was created with the most recent UIS data release that

included 2010 data for most countries. Indicators were calculated by UIS according to definitions available in the

EdStats Query.

Data Sources

The State of Education Series

The following State of Education presentations are available on the EdStats website:

Educational Levels: Pre-Primary Education Primary Education Secondary Education Tertiary Education

Topics: Access Quality Expenditures Literacy Equity Gender