When were most illiterate?

Spread of literacy since the mid-twentieth century However, for four decades, the population growth was so rapid that the number of illiterate adults kept increasing, rising from 700 million in 1950 to 878 million in 1990.

What was the literacy rate in 1776?

Moreover, literacy rates in America were much higher than in most of Europe. The Foundation for Economic Education estimates that around 80% of men and 50% of women in New England were literate by 1776. These number quickly rose, and by the 1800s, only one in four Americans were illiterate.

What is the literacy rate in the US 2019?

The Census Bureau reported a literacy rate of 86 percent, based on personal interviews and written responses to Census Bureau mailings.

What was the literacy rate in 1800?

1 In 1800 around 40 percent of males and 60 percent of females in England and Wales were illiterate. By 1840 this had decreased to 33 percent of men and 50 percent of women, and, by 1870, these rates had dropped further still to 20 percent of men and 25 percent of women.

What percentage of the world is illiterate 2020?

The global literacy rate for all people aged 15 and above is 86.3%. The global literacy rate for all males is 90.0%, and the rate for all females is 82.7%.

What is the lowest literacy rate in the world?

Lowest Literacy Rates

1.	South Sudan	27.0%
2.	Afghanistan	28.1
3.	Niger	28.7
4.	Burkina Faso	28.7
5.	Mali	33.4

What percentage of slaves were literate?

In the antebellum South, it’s estimated that only 10 percent of enslaved people were literate. For many enslavers, even this rate was too high. As Clarence Lusane, a professor of political science at Howard University notes, there was a growing belief that “an educated enslaved person was a dangerous person.”

What percentage of the USA is illiterate?

21 percent
According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), 21 percent of adults in the United States (about 43 million) fall into the illiterate/functionally illiterate category.