Top 10 Most Illiterate Countries in the World

Literacy is the capability to read and write. With the passage of time, education has become a must part of every nation’s survival. Believe it or not but producing more and more literate individuals is the need of the time. The overall picture of literacy in the world, however, is still not much satisfactory. In fact, the illiteracy has pushed behind over 700 million people in the race of progress and development. Measures need to be taken immediately before its too late and we, the human beings, are left without the basic requirements and facilities of life. There are so many countries like Australia, America, United Kingdom, Japan and China which are putting much attention to reduce the rate of illiterate individuals.

Here are the top 10 most illiterate countries in the world which still need to work really hard to become stable.

 10. Niger

The rate of illiteracy in Niger is around 54%, which means more than half of its population cannot read and write. The government is concerned much about how to educate the children and motivate the parents to send their kids for primary education. Since a decade or so, the rate of education in both men and women is extremely low which has given rise to child labor in this land. Most of the parents here give preference to send their kids for earning money rather than to schools.

9. The Gambia

It is a smaller West African country with an approximate illiteracy rate of 63.5%. The government has stressed much on the free education facilities which is mandatory, but still many people don’t send their kids to schools. The extreme level of deficiency of resources and earning opportunities has given rise to illiteracy both in rural and urban areas. This is an agricultural country with no short of food supply.

8. Sierra Leone

This country’s approximate population is 7 million. Most of its manpower is dependent upon the mining industry for the annually income. Sierra Leone has extremely low literacy rate just like various other African countries. Its approximate illiteracy rate is 67%. The rules have been made to send the kids to schools, but the lack of resources and low-paying jobs don’t permit many of parents do so. The Civil War caused wide destruction of schools and educational institutions in this land, but these days the government charges less fee for registering a school just to make sure that education becomes available to everyone.

7. Mauritania

Mauritania has an approximate illiteracy rate of 70% which is too high. During 80s, there were no specific educational facilities available to the people. Nowadays, the situation has been dealt with nicely but still it isn’t satisfactory at all. As per the governmental rules, primary education is mandatory, but the poor children of backward areas are still left without it. There is no transport in the countryside areas, which has been one of the reasons of illiteracy in this land.

6. Ethiopia

The World Bank disclosed the illiteracy rate in Ethiopia to be around 72%. According to a study, the illiteracy rate in this land used to be not more than 30% about two decades ago, but the lack of facilities and employment opportunities have brought this situation to an alarming level. Non government organizations have played their vital role in controlling the situation along with Ethiopian government, but still efforts seem to go useless.

5. Benin

Benin is one of the poorest countries in Africa, but still it is a God-gifted land with various natural resources which the government and people can implement to increase country’s income. The approximate illiteracy rate of Benin is 73%. More than two million of its individuals live in backward areas with extremely poor residential conditions. There is a strong need to fund this country from outside resources so that this alarming situation can be controlled.

4. Senegal

Senegal is situated in West Africa and has an approximate illiteracy rate of 77%. This country receives international donation every year to improve its economical situation. The educational programs and institutions are also funded by world’s famous NGOs, but still there seems to be no progress. Lesser children, close to none, are sent to schools and most of its individuals are jobless.

3. Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso has an illiteracy rate of 78% with inadequate school registration percentage which is around 41%. Here the majority of illiterate individuals are men in both cities and villages. This country has no short of natural resources, but those are not used in a better way so far. The primary education is not even given any preference by many of the adults, which is why they ignore to send their children to schools.

2. Guinea-Bissau

The illiteracy rate of this country is 80%. This has no enough educational facilities, and there is an extreme lack of schools and colleges. Education is mandatory for your children from 5-13 years, but a major part of this country’s population doesn’t care of this rule. Child labor, beggaring, and other similar problems have become very serious in this land.

1. Afghanistan

Afghanistan is at the top of this list because it has seen various ups and downs for a few years. The country’s illiteracy rate is around 83%, which includes both men and women. It is facing various developmental problems which are the hurdle in this country’s prosperity. Lack of jobs, violence of rules, and low-quality infrastructure has led this land to suffer with child labor like problems.

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