Page 31 - ICSE GEOGRAPHY
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countries, is the growth of major cities. Literacy Rate
Almost half of the world’s population lives
Literacy is also an important measure of any
in cities. It is predicted that there would be
population. Literacy determines the standards
about eight billion city dwellers in the world
of living, earning, spending and development
by the year 2030, and 80 per cent of them
levels. In the last century, literacy levels of the
would be living in developing countries.
world population have risen drastically. In
1820, only 12 per cent of the
World Africa
people in the world could
read and write while today,
only 17 per cent of people
are classified as illiterate.
Despite a huge increase
in literacy levels and
an expansion of basic
education, there are
substantial challenges ahead.
In the poorest countries of
the world, the lack of basic
Asia Europe education is most likely to be
a hindrance to development.
In the underdeveloped
and developing countries,
a large segment of the
population is still illiterate.
For example, in Niger, the
literacy rate of the youth
(15–24 years) is only 36.5
per cent. At the world level,
the literacy rate for all males
Latin America/Caribbean Northern America is 90 per cent and for all
females is 82.7 per cent.
Th e literacy rate varies
throughout the world with
developed nations having a
rate of 99.2 per cent (2013),
Oceania having 71.3 per
cent, South and West Asia
having 70.2 per cent (2015)
and sub-Saharan Africa at
64 per cent (2015). India’s
Urban–Rural Population Distribution average literacy rate is 74.04
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