LITERACY RATE

Definition

Total number of literate persons in a given age group, expressed as a percentage of

the total population in that age group. The adult literacy rate measures literacy among
persons aged 15 years and above, and the youth literacy rate measures literacy
among persons aged 15 to 24 years.
Literacy is the ability to identify,
Calculation method
understand, interpret, create,
Divide the number of literates of a given age communicate and compute, using
range by the corresponding age group printed and written (and visual)
population and multiply the result by 100. materials associated with varying
Alternatively, apply the same method using the contexts.
number of illiterates to derive the illiteracy rate;
Literacy involves a continuum of
or by subtracting the literacy rate from 100%.
learning to enable an individual to
achieve his or her goals, to develop
his or her knowledge and potential
and to participate fully in the wider
society. (UNESCO)

Data required

Population and number of literates (or illiterates) by age range.

Data source

Mainly national population census; household and/or labour force surveys.

Interpretation

A high literacy rate (or low illiteracy rate) suggests the existence of an effective primary
education system and/or literacy programmes that have enabled a large proportion of
the population to acquire the ability of using the written word (and making simple
arithmetic calculations) in daily life and to continue learning. It is common practice to
present and analyse literacy rates together with the absolute number of illiterates as
improvements in literacy rates may sometimes be accompanied by increases in the
illiterate population due to a changing demographic structure.

Limitations

It has been observed that some countries apply definitions and criteria for literacy
which are different from the international standards defined above, or equate persons
with no schooling to illiterates, or change definitions between censuses. Practices for
identifying literates and illiterates during actual census enumeration may also vary. In
addition, errors in literacy self-declaration can affect the reliability of literacy statistics.
Purpose

To show the accumulated achievement of primary education and literacy

programmes in imparting basic literacy skills to the population, thereby enabling them
to apply such skills in daily life and to continue learning and communicating using the
written word. Literacy represents a potential for further intellectual growth and
contribution to economic-socio-cultural development of society.

Quality standards

Rate cannot exceed 100%. It is useful to align measurements of literacy with the
standard international definition given above, and to administer literacy tests on a
sample basis to verify and improve the quality of literacy statistics.

Types of disaggregation

By sex and by the following five-year age groups: 15-19; 20-24; 25-29; 30-34; 35-39; 40-44;
45-49; 50-54; 55-59; 60-64; 65 and above.

DATA

Worldwide
 Literacy rates among youth (aged 15 to 24) and adults are the test of an
educational system, and the overall trend is positive, thanks to the expansion of
educational opportunities. Globally, the youth literacy rate increased from 83 per cent
to 91 per cent over two decades, while the number of illiterate youth declined from 170
million to 115 million. Regional and gender disparities persist, however. Literacy is lowest
in least developed countries and higher among males than females. In the most recent
years for which data are available, young women accounted for 59 per cent of the
total illiterate youth population.

About 60 per cent of the countries and areas for which data are available have
eradicated or nearly eradicated illiteracy among youth. In several countries in West
and Central Africa, however, youth literacy rates remain less than 50 per cent. These
are countries that have struggled to increase school enrolment at both primary and
secondary levels. However, even when universal primary education is within reach,
some countries, such as Malawi and Zambia, show low youth literacy rates. This suggests
that enrolment as well as retention in school is important, as is the quality of education.

Notes on the data:

For a full picture of children’s school participation, UNICEF uses two sources of data:
enrolment data, which are based on administrative records, and attendance data
from household surveys. In half of all countries, data on primary and secondary
education come from more than one source. All data on primary and secondary
education used by UNICEF are based on official International Standard Classifications
of Education (ISCED) and may deviate somewhat from those used by country-specific
school systems.
Philippines

Source: 1 - Unless otherwise noted, information in this page is accurate as of January 1, 2018
 Basic literacy rate is high for both males
and females

Basic literacy is almost universal in

the Philippines. Of the estimated 68 million
Filipinos 10 years old and over in 2008, 95.6
percent are basically literate. The basic
literacy rate is 96.1 percent among
females and 95.1 percent among males.
By region, basic literacy rates are about
the same for males and females.

Functional literacy rate among females is

higher than among males

The 2008 FLEMMS results also show

that the functional literacy rate among
females is higher than among males.
Overall, functional literacy rate is 88.7 percent for females and 84.2 percent for males.
Among the 15 to 24 age group, 94.0 percent of females as compared to 88.7 percent
of males are functionally literate. Meanwhile, 87.6 percent of females and 84.1 percent
of males in the 25 to 64 age group are functionally literate. In four regions, namely,
Eastern Visayas, Western Visayas, Bicol, and Caraga female functional literacy rates are
at least eight percentage points higher than male functional literacy rates.

Basic literacy or simple literacy refers to the ability of a person to read and write with
understanding a simple message in language or dialect. In this survey, basic literacy
status of an individual was determined based on the respondents answer to the
question “Can ____ read and write a simple message in any language or dialect?”

Functionally literate refers to a person who can read, write and compute or one
who can read, write, compute and comprehend.
 Functional literacy
rate is also generally high
among men and women
exposed to different
forms of mass media.
Among men, functional
literacy rate ranges from
93.0 percent for those
who watched television
to 95.5 percent for those
who surfed the internet.
Among women, it ranges
from 94.7 percent for
those who watched
television to 97.0 percent
for those who surfed the
internet.

TECHNICAL NOTES

The 2008 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) is a national
survey that gathers information on basic and functional literacy status of the
population, the educational skills qualifications, and exposure of the population to mass
media. It is the fourth in a series of functional literacy surveys conducted by the National
Statistics Office (NSO). The three previous rounds were conducted in 1989, 1994, and
2003. The survey is conducted in order to obtain data that will be used as basis of
educational policies and programs that will improve the coverage and quality of
education in the country. Specifically, the survey seeks to:

 estimate the proportion of the population 10 years old and over who are
basically literate, and proportion of the
 population aged 10 to 64 years who are functionally literate;
 determine the educational skills qualifications of the population in terms of
formal schooling; and
 determine the mass media exposure of the basically and functionally
literate/illiterate population.

The survey was designed to provide data representative of the country and its 17
administrative regions. The 2008 FLEMMS was conducted by the NSO in coordination
with the Literacy Coordinating Council (LCC) and the Department of Education
(DepEd).
Bibliography
Index Mundi. (2015). Index Mundi. Retrieved from Literacy- World:
https://www.indexmundi.com/g/r.aspx?c=rp&v=39

PSA. (2017). Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved from Literacy, Simple/ Basic:
https://psa.gov.ph/content/literacy-rate-simplebasic

UNESCO. (2018). UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved from UNESCO Philippines:
http://uis.unesco.org/country/PH

UNICEF. (2018, July). UNICEF Data. Retrieved from Literacy:

https://data.unicef.org/topic/education/literacy/