[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"question:1509:en-US":3},{"metadata":4,"sys":15,"fields":35},{"tags":5,"concepts":14},[6,11],{"sys":7},{"type":8,"linkType":9,"id":10},"Link","Tag","education",{"sys":12},{"type":8,"linkType":9,"id":13},"global",[],{"space":16,"id":20,"type":21,"createdAt":22,"updatedAt":23,"environment":24,"publishedVersion":28,"revision":29,"contentType":30,"locale":34},{"sys":17},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"Space","ghhpjogyw4x7","7DmIOIsLIyoP1eILoenTNU","Entry","2023-02-02T10:57:55.820Z","2023-12-20T12:38:36.482Z",{"sys":25},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},"master","Environment",64,4,{"sys":31},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":33},"ContentType","question","en-US",{"isHidden":36,"isRequiredForChallenge":36,"globalId":37,"answers":38,"answersAsImages":36,"wrongPercentage":91,"name":92,"questionText":93,"statistics":94,"veryWrongStatistics":96,"correctSentence":98,"youWereWrong":99,"youWereRight":100,"dataSourceShortText":101,"dataSourceLinkLongText":102,"extendedAnswerText":103,"headingVeryWrong":104,"youWereVeryWrong":99,"headingWrong":104},false,"1509",[39,58,75],{"metadata":40,"sys":43,"fields":54},{"tags":41,"concepts":42},[],[],{"space":44,"id":46,"type":21,"createdAt":47,"updatedAt":47,"environment":48,"publishedVersion":29,"revision":50,"contentType":51,"locale":34},{"sys":45},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"6YNmKcnD6OMvfTIX7CrsgU","2023-02-02T10:57:55.869Z",{"sys":49},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},1,{"sys":52},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":53},"answer",{"globalId":55,"correctAnswer":36,"isVeryWrong":56,"answerText":57},"1509-a1",true,"Less than 40%",{"metadata":59,"sys":62,"fields":72},{"tags":60,"concepts":61},[],[],{"space":63,"id":65,"type":21,"createdAt":66,"updatedAt":66,"environment":67,"publishedVersion":69,"revision":50,"contentType":70,"locale":34},{"sys":64},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"79M3NUFkRkIvU9an05T6Ig","2023-02-02T10:57:55.912Z",{"sys":68},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},3,{"sys":71},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":53},{"globalId":73,"correctAnswer":36,"isVeryWrong":36,"answerText":74},"1509-a2","Around 60%",{"metadata":76,"sys":79,"fields":88},{"tags":77,"concepts":78},[],[],{"space":80,"id":82,"type":21,"createdAt":83,"updatedAt":83,"environment":84,"publishedVersion":69,"revision":50,"contentType":86,"locale":34},{"sys":81},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"6RRJvcrWjfhCx1ibDJLgqC","2023-02-02T10:57:55.954Z",{"sys":85},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},{"sys":87},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":53},{"globalId":89,"correctAnswer":56,"isVeryWrong":36,"answerText":90},"1509-a3","More than 80%",71,"Literacy rate","How many adults in the world say they can read?",[95],"uk 0.71",[97],"uk 0.251","Worldwide, 87% of adults say they can read.","You're fifty years behind. Most children go to school and most eventually learn to read.","They fail to realize that education has become a norm and most go to school and that - if the trend continues - soon everyone will be able to read. \n","Source: UNESCO","The data is from UNESCO. Data quality varies between countries and generally it is less reliable in low-income countries. \n\nThe data has been collected using different methodologies in different countries. In some countries the people surveyed are asked if they can read a short text aloud. In many countries, though, people are just asked if they can read or sometimes only if they and the people they live with went to school. There is some evidence from studies that people do not read as well as they report themselves to and that, in some cases, going to school may not mean a person is what we might consider to be literate. These doubts should not stop us recognizing the overall trend, that more boys and girls go to school, men and women have more years of education and more people say they can read than ever before. \n\nWe have put big differences between our three answer options to ensure our correct answer is more correct than the other two.\nTo check the difference between self-reported literacy and tested literacy, we have found seven studies from different countries that give an idea of roughly the size of the overreporting. In five countries the studies show roughly 12% overreporting of literacy when self-reported: South Africa[3], Nigeria[4], USA[5], India[6] and Bangladesh[7].\nThe pattern seems to be that countries with lower literacy rates have a larger difference between the self reported number and the tested literacy. In Ghana[8] the difference was 27%, while in Sweden[9] there was almost no difference at all.\n\n[1] [UNESCO](https:\u002F\u002Fdata.worldbank.org\u002Findicator\u002FSE.ADT.LITR.ZS)\n\n[2][UNESCO Institute of Statistics database.](http:\u002F\u002Fdata.uis.unesco.org\u002Findex.aspx?queryid=121)\n\n[3][The costs of illiteracy in South Africa, Page 3. While 90% were self-reported readers, 75% actually passed the reading test.](https:\u002F\u002Fideas.repec.org\u002Fp\u002Fsza\u002Fwpaper\u002Fwpapers113.html)\n\n[4][In Nigeria, roughly 10% fewer pass reading tests compared to the self reported readers.](https:\u002F\u002Fhuebler.blogspot.com\u002F2008\u002F04\u002Fself-reported-and-tested-literacy-in.html)\n\n[5][In the USA, 5% were considered illiterate after testing, and 14% fail basic reading tests.](https:\u002F\u002Fnces.ed.gov\u002Fnaal\u002Festimates\u002FStateEstimates.aspx)\n\n[6][In India, the self-reported literacy was roughly 15% higher than the tested literacy.](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jstor.org\u002Fstable\u002F41057386?seq=1)\n\n[7][In Bangladesh some 9.5% of people reported they could read, while the tests showed they couldn’t.](http:\u002F\u002Fdspace.bracu.ac.bd\u002Fxmlui\u002Fbitstream\u002Fhandle\u002F10361\u002F13237\u002FSelf-report%20and%20test%20discrepancy%20evidence%20from%20national%20literacy%20survey%20in%20Bangladesh.pdf?sequence=1)\n\n[8][In Ghana there were 27% fewer who passed the reading test compared to those claiming they could read.](https:\u002F\u002Fbooks.google.se\u002Fbooks?id=EbEvDwAAQBAJ&pg=SA6-PA36&lpg=SA6-PA36&dq=test+literacy+self-reported&source=bl&ots=q5qebxPlbp&sig=ACfU3U1zfyDGHBR6mYMAUioq-PWwQVmVNg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwirrN-R0abnAhXJxIsKHXn4CkQQ6AEwEnoECAsQAQ#v=onepage&q=test%20literacy%20self-reported&f=false) \n\n[9][In Sweden there was hardly any difference.](https:\u002F\u002Flink.springer.com\u002Farticle\u002F10.1186\u002F2196-0739-1-3)","Reading is an important skill to get a job, understand a prescription, or sign a contract. Back in the mid-1970s, around a third of people said they couldn’t read, and today it’s around one sixth. Among those who claim they can read, there are many who exaggerate their skills. When put to a reading test, roughly 10% of those who said they can read fail the test in countries as different as the USA and South Africa.\n\n### Why is it a problem if many are wrong about this?\nPeople seem to have an outdated view of the world. If they think a third of the world’s population is unable to read, they must think that many, many countries are dysfunctional and are unable to educate their people to even a basic level. That isn’t the case any longer!\n\n### Why are many wrong about this?\nPeople hugely overestimate how many live in extreme poverty, and in poverty people have less access to most services including education, so it is not surprising that they also think a big share of the world’s population are unable to read. \n\n### Can I trust the data?\nYes, but be aware of its limitations. The data is not 100% comparable as different surveys have asked similar but not always identical questions. In some countries the people surveyed are asked if they can read a short text. In many, though, people are asked if they can read or even if they and the people they live with went to school. There is some evidence from studies that people do not read as well as they report themselves to. As a rule of thumb, literacy seems roughly 15% higher if it is self reported compared to actually putting people to the test. \n\nAs our question about education quality shows, it is a huge problem. Going to school may not mean a person is what we might consider to be literate. Those doubts should not stop us recognizing the overall trend: that more people go to school, men and women have more years of education and more people say they can read than ever before.\n\n### Further reading\nYou can see a detailed breakdown of the data on [Our World In Data](https:\u002F\u002Fourworldindata.org\u002Fliteracy) and read more about the progress and challenges related to literacy on the[ UNESCO website](https:\u002F\u002Fuis.unesco.org\u002Fen\u002Ftopic\u002Fliteracy). \n","It spells M-A-J-O-R-I-T-Y"]