Literacy

Literacy is the ability to read and write. In modern context, the word means reading and writing in a level adequate for written communication and generally a level that enables one to successfully function at certain levels of a society.

Lack of literacy

Many have been concerned about the lack of literacy in the world population, despite the fact that literacy rates have increased steadily over the past few decades, especially in the third world. Third world nations which adopted communism (China, Cuba, and Vietnam, for example), experienced some of the most dramatic growth of literacy, approaching US and European rates. The United Nations defines illiteracy as the inability to read and write a simple sentence in any language. Figures of 1998 show that 16% of the world population is illiterate (by the UN definition). In the United States alone, 5% of the population is illiterate by the US Government definition, according to the 1990 Census. Seven million UK residents are functionally illiterate according to Government figures. Another problem in the developed countries is the rise of secondary and tertiary illiteracy in recent years, i.e. the complete or partial loss of previously existing reading and writing skills due to lack of practice. Among the Arab states, more than 25% of men and 50% of women were not literate as of 2000. http://www.uis.unesco.org/ev.php?ID=4960_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC The most likely reason for low levels of literacy is lack of education.

Related Topics:
China - Cuba - Vietnam - US - United Nations - 1998 - 1990 - Census - UK - Secondary - Tertiary illiteracy - Arab - 2000

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Many people in the third world cannot see the point of learning to read, as they are able to function perfectly well without doing so.

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Some have suggested that the lower the illiteracy rate of a country, generally the longer the life span, although critics have argued that this is a Post hoc fallacy. Literacy does aid the provision of healthcare in a number of very practical ways (ability to read prescriptions and understand doctors' conclusions are two examples of this).

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