This bar chart represents last year’s illiteracy rates in the world in percentages. It is divided by gender and region.
It is notable that developed countries own a very little percentage of illiterates while women from South Asia and Arab States represent more than 50% of illiterates. It is visible that women have approximatley two times a higher illiteracy rate than men in a majority of regions. In addition to this, on one hand developed countries have the lowest rate, with less than 5% for men and women, while on the other hand south Asia has the highest rate with over 55% for women and about 35% for men. Other countries such as Arab States or Sub-Saharan Africa show a slightly lower rate than South Asia but are still quite high around 50% for women and 30% for men. East Asia shows a large disparity between men and women with precisely 20% of illiterate women and less than 10% illiterate men. Finally, Latin America has an equal amount of illiterates at about 10%.
Overall, it is clear that developed countries have the less amount of illiterates whereas South Asia has the largest rate close to Arab States and Sub-Saharan Africa. We can see a drop of illiteracy in Latin America and East Asia.