Band 9: The bar chart shows the literacy rate (% of people who can read and write) by region and gender in 2011. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

The bar chart illustrates the percentage of literate females and males in seven distinct regions in the year 2011. Overall, the literacy rate of men was higher than that of women during this period. Furthermore, the highest and the lowest percentages of both were in Central Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, respectively.

In 2011, the literacy rate in Central Asia was at the same level with an approximate percentage of 100%. In addition to this similarity, it was the highest recorded rate. In contrast, the region with the lowest literacy rate was Sub-Saharan Africa, where almost 70% of men were able to read and write, as opposed to a little under 60% of women.

On the other hand, the smallest difference (approximately 3%) was among the literate people of East Asia/Pacific, compared to the largest one in South and West Asia, where the female literacy rate was noticeably lower than that of males (by about 20%).