Literacy Rate is About More than Just Reading

Global Literacy Tied to Health and Wealth

I just arrived in China last night (although, China is 12 hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone so “night” is subjective) on a 2 week stay to visit my parents in Shanghai. On the flight over, I was reading a current issue of National Geographic where I learned that the literacy rate in developing countries has been fast catching up to the developed world over the past 35 years. Literacy, which specifically refers to the ability to read and write, affects more than its name suggests: it is also a litmus test of the education level of that country’s general population.

Raising the level of literacy in a nation has far-reaching effects, as all the knowledge contained in books is useless to those who cannot read it. From understanding medicine labels and road signs, to opening up new pathways of thought, increasing the ‘global level’ of literacy is an important goal.

In the past few decades, this global level of literacy has grown dramatically as the world is becoming increasingly interconnected through economics, politics, and the internet. A quick snapshot of current literacy levels:

• Europe 99% (94% in 1970)
• Americas (North and South) 94% (85% in 1970)
• Asia 78% (51% in 1970)
• Africa 65% (28% in 1970)

Importantly, increasing literacy levels is correlated with higher per capita gross domestic product (a measure of the wealth per person in a nation). This makes sense as a population with higher educations is able to be more competitive in the global market. Furthermore, high literacy levels go hand-in-hand with lower infant mortality rates as well (better doctors, medical knowledge, understanding of health and science, etc).

Women More Likely to Be Illiterate

Gender is also heavily involved in global literacy levels: women are still much more likely to be illiterate in developing nations than are men. In areas of the world where women are viewed as property or indentured servants, depriving them of the ability to read is a way of depriving them of a way to better their lives through information. Out of the 770 million people in the world who are illiterate, two-thirds are women. In India, less that 50% of adult women are literate and in Niger, only 15% can read. To address this problem, the United Nations has pushed for global literacy programs, which is starting to bear fruit in younger generations. Younger women in India (ages 15-24) are much more likely to be literate (70% can read) than the older generation. In an increasingly information-driven world economy, literacy rates both a national concern as well as an individual one.

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