Literacy - Our World in Data

Of the world population older than 15 years 86% are literate. This interactive map shows how the literacy rates varies between countries around ... COVID-19vaccinations,cases,excessmortality,andmuchmoreExploreourCOVID-19dataLiteracyGloballiteracytodayHistoricalchangeinliteracyLiteracyaroundtheworldtodayLiteracybygenerationLiteracybysexNumeracyDefinitions&MeasurementMeasurementtodayReconstructingestimatesfromthepastDataSourcesEndnotesLicenceCitationContentsLiteracyisakeyskillandakeymeasureofapopulation’seducation.Inthisentrywediscusshistoricaltrends,aswellasrecentdevelopmentsinliteracy.Fromahistoricalperspective,literacylevelsfortheworldpopulationhaverisendrasticallyinthelastcoupleofcenturies.Whileonly12%ofthepeopleintheworldcouldreadandwritein1820,todaythesharehasreversed:only14%oftheworldpopulation,in2016,remainedilliterate.Overthelast65yearsthegloballiteracyrateincreasedby4%every5years–from42%in1960to86%in2015.1Despitelargeimprovementsintheexpansionofbasiceducation,andthecontinuousreductionofeducationinequalities,therearesubstantialchallengesahead.Thepoorestcountriesintheworld,wherebasiceducationismostlikelytobeabindingconstraintfordevelopment,stillhaveverylargesegmentsofthepopulationwhoareilliterate.InNiger,forexample,theliteracyrateoftheyouth(15-24years)isonly36.5%.AllourinteractivechartsonLiteracy AdultliteracyrateGenderparityindex(GPI):Literacyrateofyoungpeople(ages15-24)LiteracyrateinadultmenLiteracyrateinadultwomenLiteracyrates,adultfemale,one-sentencetest(DHS)vsself-reports(UNESCO)Literacyrates,adultmale,one-sentencetest(DHS)vsself-reports(UNESCO)Youthliteracyrate,femaleYouthliteracyrate,maleChart1of8 GloballiteracytodayOftheworldpopulationolderthan15years86%areliterate.Thisinteractivemapshowshowtheliteracyratesvariesbetweencountriesaroundtheworld.Inmanycountriesmorethan95%havebasicliteracyskills.Literacyskillsofthemajorityofthepopulationisamodernachievementasweshowbelow.Globallyhowever,largeinequalitiesremain,notablybetweensub-SaharanAfricaandtherestoftheworld.InBurkinaFaso,NigerandSouthSudan–theAfricancountriesatthebottomoftherank–literacyratesarestillbelow30%. Clicktoopeninteractiveversion HistoricalchangeinliteracyGloballiteracyhasgrownsubstantiallyinthelasttwocenturiesWhiletheearliestformsofwrittencommunicationdatebacktoabout3,500-3,000BCE,literacyremainedforcenturiesaveryrestrictedtechnologycloselyassociatedwiththeexerciseofpower.ItwasonlyuntiltheMiddleAgesthatbookproductionstartedgrowingandliteracyamongthegeneralpopulationslowlystartedbecomingimportantintheWesternWorld.2Infact,whiletheambitionofuniversalliteracyinEuropewasafundamentalreformbornfromtheEnlightenment,ittookcenturiesforittohappen.Itwasonlyinthe19thand20thcenturiesthatratesofliteracyapproacheduniversalityinearly-industrializedcountries.Thefollowingvisualizationpresentsestimatesofworldliteracyfortheperiod1800-2016.Aswecansee,literacyratesgrewconstantlybutratherslowlyuntilthebeginningofthetwentiethcentury.Andtherateofgrowthreallyclimbedafterthemiddleofthe20thcentury,whentheexpansionofbasiceducationbecameaglobalpriority.YoucanreadmoreabouttheexpansionofeducationsystemsaroundtheworldinourentryonFinancingEducation. Clicktoopeninteractiveversion WhendidliteracystartincreasinginEurope?ThefollowingvisualizationshowsthespreadofliteracyinEuropesincethe15thcentury,basedonestimatesfromBuringhandVanZanden(2009).3Asitcanbeseen,therisinglevelsofeducationinEuropeforeshadowedtheemergenceofmodernsocieties.ParticularlyfastimprovementsinliteracytookplaceacrossNorthwestEuropeintheperiod1600-1800.Aswediscussbelow,widespreadliteracyisconsideredalegacyoftheAgeofEnlightenment. Clicktoopeninteractiveversion TheambitionofuniversalliteracyinEuropewasareformbornoftheEnlightenmentThischartshowshistoricalestimatesofliteracyinEnglandoverthelastfivecenturies.Thehistoricalestimatesarebasedonthepercentageofmenwomenwhocouldsigndocuments,averybasicdefinitionofliteracythatisoftenusedinhistoricalresearchoneducation.4ThefirstobservationsrefertomenandwomeninthedioceseofNorwich,whichliestotheNortheastofLondon.Here,themajorityofmen(61%)wereunabletowritetheirnameinthelate16thcentury;forwomenitwasmuchlower. By1840two-thirdsofmenandabouthalfofwomenwereliterateinEngland.Theexpansionofeducationledtoareductionineducationgenderinequality.Towardstheendofthe19thcenturythesharehadincreasedtoalmostthree-quartersforbothgenders.AsthecenteroftheIndustrialRevolutionandoneofthefirstcountriesthatestablisheddemocraticinstitutions,Englandwasinimportantaspectsthecenterofthedevelopmentofmodernity.ThedatashowsthatimprovementsinliteracyprecededtheIndustrialRevolutionandinmanywaystheriseoflivingstandardsbecameonlypossiblethankstoanincreasinglybettereducatedpublic.Economicgrowthispossiblewhenwebetterunderstandhowtoproducethethingsweneed,andtranslatetheseinsightsintotechnologicalimprovementsthatallowustoproducethemmoreefficiently.Boththedevelopmentofnewtechnologies(innovation)andtheiruseinproductionreliedonamuchbetter-educatedpopulation. Widespreadschooleducationandevenbasicskillslikeliteracyareaveryrecentachievementthatwasenabledandatthesametimerequiredbytheprogressachievedinrecentgenerations.LiteracyandaccesstoeducationhaveincreasedaroundtheworldThevisualizationshows,intwopanels,aside-by-sidecomparisonoflong-termtrendsinschoolattendanceandliteracy.Wecanseethatin1870onlyoneinfourpeopleintheworldattendedschool,andthismeantthatonlyoneinfivewereabletoread.Andglobalinequalitiesinaccesstoeducationwereverylarge.Today,incontrast,theglobalestimatesofliteracyandschoolattendanceareabove80%,andtheinequalitybetweenworldregions–whilestillexisting–ismuchlower.Wecanseethattwocenturiesagoonlyasmalleliteoftheworldpopulationhadtheabilitytoreadandwrite–thebestestimateisthat12%oftheworldpopulationwasliterate.Overthecourseofthe19thcenturygloballiteracymorethandoubled.Andoverthecourseofthe20thcenturytheworldachievedrapidprogressineducation.Morethan4outof5peoplearenowabletoread.Younggenerationsarebettereducatedthaneverbefore.IntheUS,theexpansionofliteracyhelpedreducewithin-countryinequalitiesTheexpansionofliteracyinearly-industrializedcountrieshelpedreducewithin-countryinequalities.IntheprecedingvisualizationweshowedthatEnglandvirtuallyclosedliteracygendergapsby1900.HereweprovideevidenceofliteracygapsacrossracesintheUS.Thefollowingvisualizationshowsilliteracyratesbyracefortheperiod1870-1979.Aswecansee,inordertoreachnearuniversallevelsofliteracy,theUShadtoclosetheracegap.Thiswaseventuallyachievedaround1980.Percentageofpersons14yearsoldandoverintheUSwhowereilliteratebyrace,1870-1979–OurWorldinData,withdatafromNCES5LatinAmericahasmadehugeimprovementsinliteracyinthelastcenturyAspointedoutabove,Europepioneeredtheexpansionofbasiceducation–butgloballiteracyratesonlystartedreallyclimbinginthesecondhalfofthe20thcentury,whentheexpansionofbasiceducationbecameaglobalpriority.HerewepresentevidenceofimportantrecentachievementsinLatinAmerica,whereliteracyhasdramaticallyincreasedinthepastcentury.Asitcanbeseen,manynationshavegained40-50percentagepointsinliteracyduringthisperiod.Despitetheseimprovements,however,thereisstillawidedisparitybetweennations.Hereyoucanseethat,attheturnofthe21stcentury,halfofthepopulationinpoorcountriessuchasHaitiremainsilliterate.Thismotivatesthenextvisualization,wherewediscusscross-countryheterogeneityinmoredetail. Clicktoopeninteractiveversion LiteracyaroundtheworldtodayInthissectionLiteracybygenerationLiteracybysexLiteracybygenerationToassesstheextenttowhichprogresscanbeexpectedintheyearstocome,itisconvenienttobreakdownliteracyestimatesbyagegroups.Thefollowingmap,usingdatafromUNESCO,showssuchestimatesformostcountriesintheworld.Asitcanbeseen,inthemajorityofnationsthereisalargedifferenceinliteracyratesacrossgenerations(youcanchangethemaptoshowliteracyratesfordifferentgroupsbyclickingonthecorrespondingbuttonsatthetop).Theselargedifferencesacrossgenerationspointtoaglobaltrend:thehighliteracyrateamongtheyouthindicatesthatastimepasses,theliteracyratefortheoverallpopulationwillcontinuetoincrease.Worldmapsoftheliteracyratebyagegroup6NorthernAfricaandtheMiddleEasthavedrasticallyimprovedliteracyinjustonegenerationWehighlightedabovethefactthatmostlowandmiddleincomecountriesfeaturelargedifferencesinliteracyratesacrossgenerations.ThevisualizationshowsspecificallyhowremarkablylargethesedifferencesareinNorthernAfricaandtheMiddleEast.UsingUNESCOdata,thesemapsshowthatinmanycountriesintheseregions,onlylessthanathirdoftheoldergenerationisliterate–whileincontrast,morethan90%oftheyoungergenerationisliterate.Thescatterplotemphasisesthepointalreadymade.Asyoucansee,youngergenerationsaremorelikelytobeliteratethanoldergenerationsaroundtheworld.Andinsomecountriesthegapsaredramatic.InAlgeria,forexample,theliteracyrateamongtheyouth(15-24years)iscloseto97%;whileitis28%amongtheolderpopulation(65+years).Inthechartyoucanusetheslideratthebottomtocheckhowthesegenerationalgapshavebeenchanginginrecentdecades.YoucanseethatthroughoutAfricathechangeshavebeenmainlyhorizontal(i.e.gapshavebeenwideningastherehavebeenradicalrecentimprovementsspecificallybenefitingtheyoungerpopulation).Thisisincontrasttoricherregions,suchasEurope,wheretheexpansionofeducationstartedearlierandasaconsequencechangeshavebeenmainlyvertical(e.g.inPortugaltheliteracyrateamongtheyouthwasalreadyhighin1980;socontinuededucationexpansionhasmeantthatliteracyratesaretodayalmostequallyhighacrosstheentirePortuguesepopulation). Clicktoopeninteractiveversion LiteracybysexThevisualizationshowsthatparticularlyinmanypoorercountriestheliteracyrateforyoungwomenislowerthantherateforyoungmen.Thischartshowstheliteracyratebysexovertime.Thisvisualizationshowstheratiooftheliteracyratebetweenyoungwomenandmenaroundtheworld. Clicktoopeninteractiveversion NumeracyIncreasingnumeracyskillsoverthelongrunNumeracyistheabilitytounderstandandworkwithnumbers.Thevisualizationshowshowthisbasicabilitybecamemorecommoninpopulationsaroundtheworldbasedonaverybasicdefinitionofnumeracy,theabilitytocorrectlystateone’sownage. Clicktoopeninteractiveversion NumeracyskillstodayComparedtothedataonliteracywehavelessinformationonnumeracyskillsintheworldtoday.SomeinformationcomesfromPIAAC,theOECD’ssurveyoftheskillsofadults.Aworldmapofthesescorescanbefoundhere.ThescatterplotshowshowadultsinOECDcountriesscoredintheliteracyandnumeracydimension.Weseethatthetwoaspectsarecloselycorrelated,thosecountriesthathavehighliteracyalsohavehighnumeracy.PIAACisonlyavailablefortheveryrecentpast,butitcanstillgiveussomeinsightsofhownumeracyskillsintheworldhavechanged.Ifwecomparethenumeracyscoresoftheyoungcohortwiththeoldercohortinascatterplotwefindthatinmostcountriesnumeracyskillshaverecentlyincreased. Clicktoopeninteractiveversion Definitions&MeasurementInthissectionMeasurementtodayReconstructingestimatesfromthepastMeasurementtodayCommonmethodsanddatasourcesInthechartwepresentabreakdownofUNESCOliteracyestimates,showingthemainmethodologiesused,andhowthesehavechangedovertime.(Toexplorechangesacrosstimeusethesliderunderneaththemap.)Thebreakdowncoversfourcategories:self-reportedliteracydeclareddirectlybyindividuals,self-reportedliteracydeclaredbytheheadofthehousehold,testedliteracyfromproficiencyexaminations,andindirectestimationorextrapolation.Inmostcases,thecategoriescovering‘self-reports’(greenandorange)correspondtoestimatesofliteracythatrelyonanswersprovidedtoasimpleyes/noquestionaskingpeopleiftheycanreadandwrite.Thecategory‘indirectestimation’(black)correspondsmainlytoestimatesthatrelyonindirectevidencefromeducationalattainment,usuallybasedonthehighestdegreeofcompletededucation.Inthistableyoufinddetailsregardingallliteracydefinitionsandsources,countrybycountry,andhowwecategorisedthemforthepurposeofthischart.Thischartistellingusthat:Thereissubstantialcross-countryvariation,withrecentestimatescoveringallfourmeasurementmethods.Thereisvariationwithincountriesacrosstime(e.g.Mexicoswitchesbetweenself-reportsandextrapolation).Thenumberofcountriesthatbasetheirestimatesonself-reportsandtestingisincreasing.Anotherwaytodissectthesamedata,istoclassifyliteracyestimatesaccordingtothetypeofmeasurementinstrumentusedtocollecttherelevantdata.Inthenextchartweexplorethis,splittingestimatesintothreecategories:sampling,includingdatafromliteracytestsandhouseholdsurveys;censusdata;andotherinstruments(e.g.administrativedataonschoolenrollment).Herewecanseethatmostcountriesusesamplinginstruments(codedas‘surveys’inthemap),althoughinthepastcensusdatawasmorecommon.Literacysurveyshavethepotentialofbeingmoreaccurate–whenthesamplingisdonecorrectly–becausetheyallowformorespecificanddetailedmeasurementthanshortandgenericquestionsinpopulationcensuses. Clicktoopeninteractiveversion Clicktoopeninteractiveversion Dataquality:ChallengesandlimitationsAsmentionedabove,recentdataonliteracyisoftenbasedonasinglequestionincludedinnationalpopulationcensusesorhouseholdsurveyspresentedtorespondentsaboveacertainage,whereliteracyskillsareself-reported.Thequestionisoftenphrasedas“canyoureadandwrite?”.Theseself-reportsofliteracyskillshaveseverallimitations:Simplequestionssuchas“canyoureadandwrite?”frameliteracyasaskillyoueitherpossessordonotwhen,inreality,literacyisamulti-dimensionalskillthatexistsonacontinuum.Self-reportsaresubjective,inthatthequestionisdependentonwhateachindividualunderstandsby“reading”and“writing”.Theformofawordmaybefamiliarenoughforarespondenttorecallitssoundormeaningwithoutactually‘reading’it.Similarly,whenwritingoutone’snametoconveywrittenability,thiscanbeaccomplishedby‘drawing’afamiliarshaperatherthanwritinginanefforttoproduceawrittentextwithmeaning.Inmanycasessurveysaskonlyoneindividualtoreportliteracyonbehalfoftheentirehousehold.Thisindirectreportingpotentiallyintroducesfurthernoise,inparticularwhenitcomestoestimatingliteracyamongwomenandchildren,sincethesegroupsarelessoftenconsidered‘headofhousehold’inthesurveys.Similarly,inferringliteracyfromdataoneducationalattainmentisalsoproblematic,sinceschoolingdoesnotproduceliteracyinthesamewayeverywhere:Proficiencytestsshowthatinmanylow-incomecountries,alargefractionofsecond-gradeprimary-schoolstudentscannotreadasinglewordofashorttext;andforveryfewpeopleinthesecountriesgoingtoschoolforfourorfiveyearsguaranteesbasicliteracy.Evenataconceptuallevelthereislackofconsensus–nationaldefinitionsofliteracythatarebasedoneducationalattainmentvarysubstantiallyfromcountrytocountry.Forexample,inGreecepeopleareconsideredliterateiftheyhavefinishedsixyearsofprimaryeducation;whileinParaguayyouqualifyasliterateifyouhavecompletedtwoyearsofprimaryschool.7NewperspectivesthroughstandardizedliteracytestsGiventhelimitationsofself-reportedorindirectlyinferredliteracyestimates,effortsarebeingmadeatbothnationalandinternationallevelstoconductstandardizedliteracyteststoassessproficiencyinasystematicway.Inparticular,largecross-countryassessmentsurveyshavebeendevelopedtoovercomethechallengesofproducingcomparableliteracydata.TwoimportantexamplesaretheProgramfortheInternationalAssessmentofAdultCompetencies(PIAAC),whichisatestusedformeasuringliteracymostlyinrichcountries;andtheLiteracyAssessmentandMonitoringProgramme(LAMP),whichisahouseholdassessmentaimedatmeasuringliteracyskillsindevelopingcountries,whileremainingcomparableacrosscountries,languages,andscripts.8TheLAMPtestshaveonlyrecentlybeenfieldtestedinfourcountries:Jordan,Mongolia,Palestine,andParaguay.ThePIAACtests,ontheotherhand,havebeenadministeredinabout30countries,andtheresultsareshowninthechart.9Weonlyhavethesetestsforafewcountries,butwecanstillseethatthereisanoverallpositivecorrelation.Moreover,weseethatthereissubstantialvariationinscoresevenforcountrieswithidenticalandalmostperfectliteracyrates(e.g.JapanvsItaly).ThisconfirmsthefactthatPIAACtestscapturearelated,butbroaderconceptofliteracy. Clicktoopeninteractiveversion ReconstructingestimatesfromthepastCensusdataTheUNESCOdefinitionof“peoplewhocan,withunderstanding,readandwriteashort,simplestatementontheireverydaylife”,startedbeingrecordedincensusdatafromtheendofthe19thcenturyonwards.Hence,despitevariationonthetypesofquestionsandcensusinstrumentsused,thesehistoricalcensusdataremainthebestsourceofdataonliteracyfortheperiodprior1990.ThelongestseriesattemptingtoreconstructliteracyestimatesfromhistoricalcensusdataisprovidedintheOECDreport“HowWasLife?GlobalWell-beingsince1820”,publishedin2014.Thisisthesourceusedinthefirstchartinthisblogpostfortheperiod1800to1990.10HowaccuratearetheseUNESCOestimates?Theevidencesuggeststhatthenarrowconceptofliteracymeasuredinearlycensusdataprovidesanimperfect,yetinformativeaccountofliteracyskills.Thechartshowsagoodexample:Aswecansee,alreadyin1947,censusestimatesfromtheUScorrelatestronglywitheducationalattainment,asonewouldexpect.Importantly,thecorrelationbetweeneducationalattainmentandliteracyalsoholdsacrosscountriesandovertime.Thenextchartshowsthisbyplottingchangesinliteracyratesandaverageyearsofschooling.Eachcountryinthischartisrepresentedbyaline,wherethebeginningandendingpointscorrespondtothefirstandlastavailableobservationofthesetwovariablesovertheperiod1970-2010.(Aswementionabove,before1990almostallobservationscorrespondtocensusdata.)Aswecansee,literacyratestendtobemuchhigherincountrieswherepeopletendtohavemoreyearsofeducation;andasaverageyearsofeducationgoupinacountry,literacyratesalsogoup.CountrieswithhighliteracyratesalsotendtohavehigherresultsinthebasicliteracytestsincludedintheDHSsurveys(thisisatestthatrequiressurveyrespondentstoreadasentenceshowedtothem).Aswecanseeinthechart,thereisobviouslynoise,butthesetwovariablesarecloselyrelated. Clicktoopeninteractiveversion Clicktoopeninteractiveversion Clicktoopeninteractiveversion OtherhistoricalsourcesWhencensusdataisnotavailable,acommonmethodusedtoestimateliteracyistocalculatetheshareofpeoplewhocouldsignofficialdocuments(e.g.courtdocuments,marriagecertificates,etc).11AstheresearcherJeremiahDittmarexplains,thisapproachonlygivesalowerboundoftheestimatesbecausethenumberofpeoplewhocouldreadwashigherthanthenumberwhocouldwrite.Indeed,othermethodshavebeenproposed,inordertorelyonhistoricalestimatesofpeoplewhocouldread.Forexample,researchersEltjoBuringhandJanLuitenvanZandendeduceliteracyratesfromestimatedpercapitabookconsumption.12AsBuringhandVanZandenshow,theirestimatesbasedonbookconsumptionaredifferent,butstillfairlyclosetoalternativeestimatesbasedonsigneddocuments. DataSourcesCIAFactbookData:LiteracyratefortheentirepopulationGeographicalcoverage:Global–bycountryTimespan:2011ormostrecentearlierestimate(insomecasesgoingbackseveraldecades)AvailablehereUNESCOData:Literacyrate(foryouths(15-24),adults(15+)andtheelderlypopulation(65+))Geographicalcoverage:Global–bycountryTimespan:Since1975–scatteredandfarfromannualdataAvailableat:Itisonlinehere,anditisvisualizedhere.TheUNDP’sHumanDevelopmentReportdataishere,andUNICEFpublishesdataonliteracyratehere.Olderolderpublicationsincludingdataonliteracyratesare:UNESCO(2002)–EstimatedIlliteracyRateandIlliteratePopulationAged15YearsandOlderbyCountry,1970–2015,Paris.UNESCO(1970)–Literacy1967–1969ProgressAchievedinLiteracyThroughouttheWorld.Paris(1970)UNESCO(1957)–Worldilliteracyatmid-century–AStatisticalStudy,Paris.UNESCO(1953)–Progressofliteracyinvariouscountries–APreliminaryStatisticalStudyofAvailableCensusDatasince1900,Paris.WorldBank–WorldDevelopmentIndicatorsData:LiteracyrateGeographicalcoverage:Global–bycountry(notbyregion).Therearealmostnodataforrichindustrializedcountries–onlyfordevelopingcountries.Timespan:Since1975–scatteredAvailableat: Annualdataon‘Literacyrate,adulttotal(%ofpeopleages15andabove)‘–goingbackto1975 Annualdataon‘Literacyrate,youthtotal(%ofpeopleages15-24)‘–goingbackto1975(thisdataisalsopublishedformalesandfemalesseparately) ThisdataistakenfromtheUNESCO.PeterFlora’sdataData:LiteracyrateGeographicalcoverage:MostlyWesternEuropeTimespan:19thand20thcenturyAvailableat:Twoimportantpublicationsare:PeterFlora(1983&1987)–State,Economy,andSocietyinWesternEurope1815–1975:ADataHandbookintwoVolumes.Frankfurt,NewYork:Campus;London:MacmillanPress;Chicago:St.JamesPressandPeterFlora(1973)–Historicalprocessesofsocialmobilization:urbanizationandliteracy,1850–1965.InS.N.Eisenstadt,S.Rokkan(Eds.),BuildingStatesandNations:ModelsandDataResources,Sage,London,pp.213–258.OxLAD–OxfordLatinAmericanEconomicHistoryDataBaseData: Illiteracyrate(percentofadultpopulation)Geographicalcoverage: LatinAmericancountriesTimespan: Since1900Availableat:OnlinehereOECDSkillsOutlookData:MeasuresofnumeracyandliteracycompetenceGeographicalcoverage:24OECDcountriesTimespan:notimeseriesdimension–only2012Availableat:OnlineherePresentstheinitialresultsofthe SurveyofAdultSkills(PIAAC) WordpressEditPageOurWorldinDataisfreeandaccessibleforeveryone.Helpusdothisworkbymakingadonation.Donatenow