Which Country Has The Highest Literacy Rate?

Literacy is literacy and writing skills, and the cornerstone of personal empowerment and social development. Having these skills greatly expands career opportunities, leading to skilled, highly paid positions, and the lack of severely limits people’s prospects. Viewing the global literacy environment reveals significant differences, highlighting the ongoing need to ensure equitable access to quality education throughout the world.

Andorra – the country with the highest literacy rate

Andorra is a small independent European country located between Spain and France. The country has a 100% literacy rate, making it a global leader in literacy. This is due to Andorra’s commitment to education; formal education is free and mandatory from the age of 6 to 16. The government has invested heavily in its education system to ensure that most of its citizens receive quality education.

Andorra’s education system is composed of Andorran, French and Spanish systems, so it is unique. Instructions were conducted in Catalonia, French and Spanish, usually in primary and secondary schools for six years. In 2003, the distribution between teaching systems was as follows: Spanish system-36%, French system-35%, Andorran System-29%. In 2016, the total number of students in Andorra was 11,018, and the distribution changed to: Andorra system: 39%, French system: 33%, Spanish system: 28%.

The Andorra government establishes and maintains schools, while most teachers are paid by Spain or France. Multilingualism has been promoted, and all citizens have actively participated in this role model of citizen participation, which was the 1993 Llei Qualitificadad’gudeació law. Under this law, everyone has the right to basic education, aiming to develop their own personality, train as citizens and participate in the development of the country.

Global literacy pattern: Comparative analysis

The global literacy rate varies greatly, with literacy rates almost universal in some countries, while others face much lower levels. This difference arises from the delicate interaction between government policies, economic development, social norms, and the occurrence of conflict and instability.

The following table shows the countries with the highest and lowest literacy rates, thus giving a snapshot of the global literacy divide:

Global literacy rate: highest and lowest

Level (high)

Country (high)

Literacy rate (high)

Level (low)

Country (low)

Literacy rate (low)

1

Andorra

100%

1

Niger

19.10%

2

Finland

100%

2

Chad

27%

3

Liechtenstein

100%

3

Mali

31%

4

Luxembourg

100%

4

South Sudan

34.5%

5

Norway

100%

5

Afghanistan

37.3%

6

North Korea

100%

6

Central African Republic

37.5%

7

Uzbekistan

100%

7

somalia

41%

8

Azerbaijan

100%

8

Guinea

45.3%

9

Cuba

100%

9

Burkina Faso

46%

10

Ukraine

100%

10

Benin

47%

11

Latvia

99.89%

12

Estonia

99.82%

13

Lithuania

99.82%

Factors that affect literacy differences

Several key factors lead to a sharp contrast of observed literacy rates worldwide:

  • Government policy and investment: Countries that prioritize education and allocate large amounts of resources to their school systems often exhibit higher literacy rates. These policies often include mandatory education laws and initiatives aimed at improving access to quality education for all citizens.
  • Economic Development: A country’s economic situation plays a necessary role in literacy. It is easy for people from wealthy countries to invest in better educational infrastructure, improve teacher training, and provide better resources to improve literacy.
  • Social and cultural norms: Social norms and cultural values ​​have greatly influenced attitudes toward education, especially for marginalized groups including women and girls. In societies where all are highly valued and accessible to education, literacy rates tend to be higher.
  • Conflict and turmoil: Armed conflict and political instability can undermine the education system, undermine schools and replace populations, resulting in a decline in school enrollment and a decline in literacy rates.

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The power of change in literacy

Literacy is more than just reading and writing. Instead, it drives human development, reduces poverty, and stimulates overall socio-economic development. Literacy unlocks millions of potential potential, opening up critical thinkers with a wide range of educational, career and civic opportunities and providing a path to a more equitable and prosperous world for all. This is the reason why the global literacy gap is closed as a priority.

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