BBC NEWS | UK | Education | Illiteracy ‘hinders world’s poor’
The regions found to have the lowest levels of literacy are sub-Saharan Africa, south and west Asia and the Arab states, where only 60% of the population are able to read and write.
Women remain more at risk of illiteracy, with only 88 women worldwide considered literate for every 100 men.
In Bangladesh and Pakistan, these figures are even less, at 62 and 57 respectively for every 100 men.
The Global Campaign for Education (GCE) welcomed the publication and its focus on adult literacy, saying illiteracy was a violation of the fundamental human right to education.
David Archer from the GCE said: “Literacy is the fertilizer needed for development and democracy to take root and grow.
“It is the invisible ingredient in any successful strategy for eradicating poverty. Unfortunately, in recent years it has become all too invisible.”