Rise in literacy rates since 1950

[stfoskey12]

I happened to come across a world atlas from 1961 that had a map of countries and sometimes specific regions of those countries colored by literacy rate and I was surprised to find that almost all of Africa and most of Asia south of the USSR had literacy rates of less than 20%. I did a few quick Google searches and it seems like by 1970, the literacy rates were substantially higher. I am mostly wondering if the low numbers I saw were due to the atlas using higher standards for literacy than most sources or if there was a major jump in the literate population 1950s and 1960s.

Some statistics shown on the map:
Most of the U.S. had >95% literacy, but parts of the South and Alaska had less than 90%
Southern Europe seemed to have literacy rates between 40 and 80%
The USSR had literacy rates between 95 and 50%
None of Africa had a literacy rate of above 60%, South Africa was the only place with anything close to that number
Literacy rates in South America varied from <10% to 70 or 80%

 

[Silurian]

Your atlas is likely to be correct.

http://www.unesco.org/education/GMR2006/full/chapt8_eng.pdf

 

[Tee Kay]

Yeah, the massive growth in literacy over the past couple of centuries or so is really amazeballs.

The 1950s and 60s were when many former colonial countries began industrialising. These countries also typically have very high birth rates back then, so you get a very large young literate population entering the workforce in the 1970s and 1980s, hence the sudden jump in literacy.

 

[H4run]

I happened to come across a world atlas from 1961 that had a map of countries and sometimes specific regions of those countries colored by literacy rate and I was surprised to find that almost all of Africa and most of Asia south of the USSR had literacy rates of less than 20%. I did a few quick Google searches and it seems like by 1970, the literacy rates were substantially higher. I am mostly wondering if the low numbers I saw were due to the atlas using higher standards for literacy than most sources or if there was a major jump in the literate population 1950s and 1960s.

Some statistics shown on the map:
Most of the U.S. had >95% literacy, but parts of the South and Alaska had less than 90%
Southern Europe seemed to have literacy rates between 40 and 80%
The USSR had literacy rates between 95 and 50%
None of Africa had a literacy rate of above 60%, South Africa was the only place with anything close to that number
Literacy rates in South America varied from <10% to 70 or 80%

the statistic mostly show the percentage on population who illiterate in Latin alphabet, take for example until this time Morrocco still have a high population who been consider illiterate (in Latin), but they mostly literate in Arabic. After the collapse of Ottoman the illiterate number in that area grow amazingly, peoples in Turkey often say in one night the alim become jahil, or the knowledgeable become ignorance (illiterate), because in one night they change the use of Arabic letters to Latin alphabet, many peoples who able to read bald arabic consider to be illiterate just because they unable to read Latin.

So the definition of literate or illiterate mostly been define by : those who unable read Latin alphabet, if you define it by this definition then yes your data is true.

 

[Zelig]

the statistic mostly show the percentage on population who illiterate in Latin alphabet, take for example until this time Morrocco still have a high population who been consider illiterate (in Latin), but they mostly literate in Arabic. After the collapse of Ottoman the illiterate number in that area grow amazingly, peoples in Turkey often say in one night the alim become jahil, or the knowledgeable become ignorance (illiterate), because in one night they change the use of Arabic letters to Latin alphabet, many peoples who able to read bald arabic consider to be illiterate just because they unable to read Latin.

So the definition of literate or illiterate mostly been define by : those who unable read Latin alphabet, if you define it by this definition then yes your data is true.

I'm fairly certain this isn't the case, or the literacy rate in China wouldn't be over 90%.

 

[Tee Kay]

Or Japan, Korea, Thailand... or Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, Greece, Mongolia

 

[H4run]

China, Japan, Russia, etc still using their own alphabet, but Turkey for the easiest example the alphabet were changed when they entered cumhuriyet (republic).

In Ottoman period they were using arabic alphabet but in Republic time they started to use Latin alphabet and abandoned arabic.

This is a time that the Turks say "bir gunde tum alimler cahil oldu" in one day the scholars became illiterate. And Turkey is not the only example.

 

[CYSQUATCH9]

Have you seen this?

http://www.detroitliteracy.org/faq.htm

What is the functional illiteracy rate in Michigan?
About 18 percent.

What is the functional illiteracy rate in Detroit?
47% of metro Detroiters are reportedly functional illiterate.