Definition: This entry includes a definition of literacy and Census Bureau percentages for the total population, males, and females. There are no universal definitions and standards of literacy. Unless otherwise specified, all rates are based on the most common definition - the ability to read and write at a specified age. Detailing the standards that individual countries use to assess the ability to read and write is beyond the scope of the Factbook. Information on literacy, while not a perfect measure of educational results, is probably the most easily available and valid for international comparisons. Low levels of literacy, and education in general, can impede the economic development of a country in the current rapidly changing, technology-driven world.
Source: CIA World Factbook - Unless otherwise noted, information in this page is accurate as of January 1, 2012
See also: Literacy mapRelated News
Improving women's financial literacy, worldwide
Minuteman News Center - 5/20/2013 6:01:06 PM
Bottom line: Women throughout the world face unique economic and financial literacy challenges ... the biggest financial hurdles an overwhelming number of women in her country face is their status as single mothers – around 56 percent.
Nigeria needs new standard in digital literacy –Expert
nationalmirroronline.net - 5/23/2013 5:25:55 AM
Oyekale, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Commit Technology & Consult Limited, one of the leading IT training firms in the country, said in current high-tech world, digital literacy had become a requirement for an individual to be competitive.
WORLD LITERACY DAY: Is education for all feasible by 2015?
Vanguard - 9/6/2012 1:50:32 AM
Of the world’s 800 million adults who lack the basic learning tools to make informed decisions and participate fully in the development of their societies, nearly 70 per cent live in E9 countries. Tackling the literacy gap is both a moral and development ...
Tripura to emerge as fully literate state by September
articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com - 4/12/2013 3:47:12 PM
AGARTALA: Tripura will emerge as a total literate state in the country before World Literacy Day on September 8, a minister said today. A meeting of the State Literacy Mission Authority presided by Chief Minister Manik Sarkar reviewed the status ...
Literacy and Pakistan
DAWN Group - 5/22/2013 5:27:06 AM
Pakistan ranks at 113th position among 120 countries of ... occurred at the beginning when in 1947 among 10,000 primary schools only 1,700 were for girls and among 19 professional colleges only two were for women. The GDP for education is ...
Literacy in the Middle East and North Africa
Council on Foreign Relations - 5/6/2013 5:56:14 PM
While the Arab revolutions were underpinned by a demand for greater political freedom, economic frustrations–particularly among the region’s large youth population–were also a factor. Millions of young people with university degrees languish for ...
Better World Books to Provide $45,000 in LEAP Grants for Libraries and Non-Profits
San Francisco Gate - 2/28/2013 10:00:20 PM
Social business pioneer to fund projects addressing literacy needs of communities across the country. Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) February 28, 2013 Better World Books, the socially responsible online bookseller, today announces their third-annual Literacy and ...
2013 Financial Literacy Forum Series Dispatch
Yahoo! Finance - 5/23/2013 6:11:51 PM
NEW YORK (MainStreet)—Last week something very important quietly happened in an outer neighborhood of Sao Paulo, Brazil. On the top floor of the British cultural center, a building that hosts both the local consulate and a local pub, the first ...
Media Literacy,Partnership, and Coordination Director
ReliefWeb - 5/22/2013 11:06:32 PM
Education Development Center (EDC) is one of the world’s leading nonprofit research and development ... media can enable a much needed national conversation vital to contributing to the country’s democratic development.
America’s women face unique financial literacy needs
FOX News - 5/16/2013 11:56:36 PM
Overall, American women are among the most financially literate in the world ... that by making financial literacy a national priority and working together, we can make America a more financially literate country – for both or women and ...
Luau for Literacy set for June 6
Tribune-Star - 5/23/2013 8:53:31 AM
Admission tickets must be purchased by June 1 at ... May 23, 2013 Indiana State Museum to host out-of-this-world exhibition It’s the last weekend in May, and Indianapolis is playing host to the immensely popular, vividly imagined blockbuster exhibition ...
National Literacy Strategy launched for All Framework
gozonews.com - 5/18/2013 4:51:53 PM
One of the essential elements of a bilingual country is the ability to move easily between ... that can be further developed and applied to European and world languages. The National Literacy Strategy for All will focus on the range of literacy skills ...
Higher One Opens Financial Literacy Counts Grant Program to Colleges and Universities Nationwide, Recognizes Financial Literacy Month
WorldNetDaily - 5/16/2013 11:56:36 PM
Higher One, a leader in providing services to higher education administrators and students at more than 1,300 campuses across the U.S., has opened the application process for its third annual Financial Literacy Counts grant program, which supports ...
Popular movies help children improve literacy
HealthCanal - 5/19/2013 9:29:52 PM
Potentially at-risk children from the some of the lowest decile schools in the country have benefitted from University of Canterbury research that has had them watching popular movies with English subtitles. UC education researcher Faye Parkhill says New ...
Busted: the sexist myth of financial literacy
Sydney Morning Herald - 5/23/2013 3:17:04 AM
And generally, most will readily admit that they don't know anywhere near ... Olen also said that some of the advice for women, like cutting back on shopping, is unhelpful at best and sexist at worst. A 2011 Gallup poll showed that men spend $US11 ...
