Africa and the Scourge of Illiteracy: Staggering numbers to reflect on the International Literacy Day (8 September 2018)
The latest data (2015) from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Adult and Youth Literacy: National, regional and global trends, 1985-2015 show that Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is home to over 191 million adults (15 years and above) who lack basic literacy skills, including 47 million youth (15–24 years). Nearly 50% (89 million) of illiterate adults and 50% (23 million) of illiterate youth live in just four countries: Nigeria, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania. Nigeria and Ethiopia alone account for 37% (69 million) of adults and 37% (17 million) of youth who lack basic literacy in SSA. SSA also lags behind other regions in key indicators pertaining to quality and equity. Disparities in terms of gender, location and income have been endemic, deep and persistent, with the poor, girls, women and those in remote rural areas being disproportionately disadvantaged. SSA has one-seventh of the population worldwide. Yet it accounts for nearly half of all illiterat