Title: What factors influence world literacy? Is Africa different?
Description: "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 $2,200 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.  This paper--a product of the Social Development Family, Latin America and the Caribbean Region--is part of a larger effort in the Bank to reduce poverty and social exclusion"--World Bank web site.
Subjects: Case studies, Literacy
Places: Africa