What Factors Influence World Literacy? Is Africa Different?

Ninety-five percent of the world s illiterate people live in developing countries, and about 70 percent are women. Female illiteracy rates are particularly high in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Niger and Burkina Faso, for example, more than 90 percent of women are illiterate. This paper presents a model of literacy. It shows that the main determinants of worldwide literacy are enrollment rates, average years of schooling of adults, and life expectancy at birth. Income has a weak nonlinear effect, negatively affecting literacy until a threshold level of per-capita income of about $2200 a year is reached and positively affecting literacy thereafter. Finally, African countries do not have a significantly higher literacy rate when controlling for other factors.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Verner, Dorte
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2005-01
Subjects:	ADDITION, ADULT ILLITERACY, ADULT ILLITERACY RATE, ADULT LITERACY, ADULTS, CENTRAL AMERICA, CHILD MORTALITY, CHILD NUTRITION, DROPPING OUT, ENROLLMENT, ENROLLMENT RATE, ENROLLMENT RATES, FEMALE ILLITERACY, FORMAL EDUCATION, FUNCTIONAL LITERACY, GROSS ENROLLMENT, GROSS ENROLLMENT RATIO, GROSS ENROLLMENT RATIOS, HEALTH STATUS, ILLITERACY RATE, ILLITERACY RATES, LIFE EXPECTANCY, LITERACY, LITERACY PROGRAMS, LITERACY TRAINING, MIDDLE EAST, MORTALITY, NORTH AFRICA, NUTRITION, PARENTS, POPULATION GROWTH, POPULATION GROWTH RATES, PRIMARY SCHOOL, PRIMARY SCHOOL ENROLLMENT, PUBLIC EDUCATION, PUBLIC EXPENDITURE, PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PUPILS, QUALITY OF EDUCATION, READING, SCHOOL FACTORS, SCHOOL SYSTEMS, SCHOOLING, UNEMPLOYMENT, UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION, WRITING SKILLS,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2005/01/5604214/factors-influence-world-literacy-africa-different http://hdl.handle.net/10986/8891
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