Question: What was the public's literacy rate in leading up to the early 19th century in the empire?
Sentence: Because of a low literacy rate among the public (about 2–3% until the early 19th century and just about 15% at the end of 19th century),[citation needed] ordinary people had to hire scribes as "special request-writers" (arzuhâlcis) to be able to communicate with the government.
Answer in sentence: yes