2. What is global literacy
• Literacy is commonly defined as people’s capacity to read, write and comprehend the textual elements of a
language. In the modern world, however, the concept of literacy could be extended to a collection of
knowledge, expertise, and perceptions in the areas that are required in life based on continuously changing
environments. Literacy is a promoter of sustainable development since it contributes to the improvement of
living conditions and motivates people to become an integral part of society. It also takes child and family
health and nutrition to a higher level, decreases poverty levels, and enhances life opportunities.
3. Why is literacy important?
• Reading and writing were developed by humans to produce, store and share a physical record of knowledge with others
across time and distance. In doing so, they have encouraged the following generations to build upon the knowledge of those
who came before them.
• People require literacy to interact with the written world in everyday life. It is vital for people to be able to read signs,
labels, and phone messages. The same applies to writing – today text-based communication emphasizes the need to be able
to read.
4. • Moreover, literacy is critical in transforming children into socially involved citizens. Reading and writing means
being able to stay informed, communicate effectively and comprehend the issues that shape our world.
• Literacy is important for employment. At the fundamental stage, without it, searching for or reading a job
post, putting together a CV, or reading an employment contract becomes difficult.
• Literacy is also important for civic activity. Besides the fact that a lot of data provided by a government and its
associated agencies is written, poor literacy also impairs an individual’s capacity to vote and thus participate in one
of democracy’s pillars.
5. 💡 Today, the world encompasses more than 773 million illiterate people and around 60% of theses are women.
6. Statistics of the global literacy rate
• According to the World Population Review, the global literacy rate among males and females over the
age of 15 is 86.3%.
• Males – 90%
• Females – 82.7%
• The literacy rate in developed countries is 99.2%
• 773 million adults and children do not have basic literacy abilities.
• 617 million children and youngsters fail to meet the basic reading and mathematics competence levels.
• The first phase of the COVID-19 epidemic affected the education of 62.3% of the world’s 1.1 billion
students.
• Over the last 50 years, the global literacy rate amongst adults has increased from 67% (in 1976) to 86%
(in 2019).
• Most illiterate adults are from South Asia, West Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa.
7. Top 10 Educated Countries in World in 2022
Canada
Canada has emerged the most educated country in the world in 2022 and the country has a literacy rate of 60 Percentage,
according to OECB data. Almost 89 percentage of people in Canada have managed to get secondary education.
Russia
Russia became the second most educated country in the world, according to OECD and the country has a literacy rate of
56.70 Percentage with a population of 145,805,947.
Japan
Most of the citizens in Japan can read and write subjects like maths, science and many more. The island nation has the
literacy rate of 52.70 Percentage with a population of 125,584,838.
8. Luxembourg
Luxembourg has a literacy rate of 51.30 Percentage, and a population of 642, 371, according to OECD. Notably, the education
in Luxembourg is multilingual and consists of fundamental education, secondary education and higher education.
South Korea
South Korea ranked as the fifth most educated country in the world with the literacy rate @ 50.70 Percentage and the
population of South Korea is 51,329,899.
Israel
Israel comes at sixth spot in OECD’s list of most educated country in the world with the population of 8,922,892 and literacy
rate of 50.10 Percentage.
United States of America
Most of the year, the United States used to dominate rankings of the best universities in the world. However, this year, the US
ranked seventh most educated country in the world with a population of 334,805,269 and the literacy rate of 50.10
Percentage
9. Ireland
Ireland is the most educated country in the world is with the population of 5,020,199 and literacy rate of 49.90 Percentage.
Interestingly, education is compulsory for all children in Ireland from the ages of six to sixteen or until students have
completed three years of second-level education.
United Kingdom
The UK came at 10th rank with a population on 68,497,907 and the literacy rate of 49.40 Percentage. The UK education
system is divided into four main parts such as primary education, secondary education, further education and higher
education.
Australia
Australia completes the list of the top 10 most educated countries in the world with the population of 26,068,792 and
literacy rate of 49.30 Percentage.
10. Literacy Rate Of India
• India’s literacy rate has increased dramatically over the past four decades. According to the report published by the
National Survey of India, the Literacy Rate of India in 2023 is 77.7 per cent which puts the country one hundred and
sixty-ninth in the world rankings.. The literacy rate in 2011 was 73%. There is an increase of 4% compared to the last
census data. That’s pretty impressive compared to other developing countries, but it still means that nearly one in four
Indians remains unable to read or write (compared to about one in eight people worldwide). Kerala is the Most literate
state in India. The literacy rate of Kerala is 96.2%. As per UNESCO, India will achieve Universal Literacy in the year
2060.
Literacy Rate of India in 2023 77.7%
Male literacy rate of India in 2023 84.7%
Female literacy rate of India in 2023 70.3%
11. Literacy Rate in Urban
Areas of India
87.7%
Literacy Rate in Rural
Areas of India
73.5%
Highest Literacy State in
India
Kerala
Highest Male Literacy State
in India
Lakshadweep
Highest Female
Literacy State in India
Kerala
12. State wise Highest Literate Rate in
India
STATE LITERACY
RATE
MALE FEMALE
Kerala 96.2% 96.11% 92.07%
Delhi 88.7% 90.94% 87.33%
Uttarakhand 87.6% 87.4% 70.01%
Himachal
Pradesh
86.6% 89.53% 75.93%
Assam 85.9% 77.85% 66.27%
Maharashtra 84.8% 88.38% 75.87%
Punjab 83.7% 80.44% 70.73%
Gujarat 82.4% 85.75% 69.68%
West Bengal 81.69% 70.54% 80.5%
Haryana 80.4% 84.06% 65.94%
13. State-wise Lowest Literate Rate in
India
STATE LITERACY RATE MALE FEMALE
Andhra Pradesh 66.4 73.4 59.5
Rajasthan 69.7 80.8 57.6
Bihar 70.9 79.7 60.5
Telangana 72.8 80.5 65.1
Uttar Pradesh 73 81.8 63.4
14. How to Improve India’s Low Literacy
Rates
The task of improving literacy rates in countries like India is a daunting one, but it’s not impossible. There are
multiple factors contributing to low literacy rates in developing countries, and many of these issues relate to
education infrastructure and funding. One very basic factor, however, is simply access to information—and
that’s where digital literacy comes into play. To see how digital literacy can impact education on a large scale,
consider a situation like the following: A government agency wants citizens to register for social programs
through mobile devices instead of paper forms. In order to do so successfully, they will need new apps and other
digital resources in place to support those users.
