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UNESCO: One tenth of the world’s adults cannot read and write

16 June 2022 07:11 (UTC +04:00)

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said that about 770 million adults around the world cannot read and write, APA reports citing TASS.

Two thirds of them are women.

“I also think of all those who did not have the right to education as children, the 770 million adults who cannot read or write, two-thirds of whom are women,” Azoulay told the 7th International Conference on Adult Education. She also called for increased efforts to provide adult education.

According to the UN and UNESCO, African countries are experiencing the most serious literacy problems.

The anti-record for this indicator belongs to Somalia. There, among adults aged 15 and over, only 5% of the population can read and write. The second place is occupied by Chad (22%), the third – by Mali (31%).

According to 2019 data, more than 86% of the world’s population could read and write. In 1979 only 68% were literate. However, according to UNESCO, the coronavirus pandemic has hampered education in many countries.

More than 500 million students have been unable to continue learning to read and write or have not been able to start learning due to school closures, the organization said.