Illiteracy: challenge of our century
Illiteracy: challenge of our century
There are more than 700 million men and women in the world over 15 years of age who cannot read or write. This figure, which emerged from a study that Unesco carried out in 1962 at the request of the United Nations General Assembly, represents two-fifths of the adult population of the globe.
In certain countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America, the number of illiterates stands as high as seventy, eighty or even ninety per cent of the total population and in many countries the female population is almost entirely illiterate. Despite the spectacular expansion of education for children, a by no means insignificant number of youngsters attending primary school leave before they have had an adequate schooling and sooner or later end up as illiterates. As a result, the number of illiterates is rising by 20 to 25 million persons each year according to certain estimates.