Ignite

Literacy

The Ability to Read and Write

America is the superpower of the World

But Can America Read?

U S A is ranked number 21 out of 180 countries Rank Country Literacy rate [b] 1  Georgia 100.0 2  Cuba 99.8 2  Estonia 99.8 2  Latvia 99.8 5  

Barbados 99.7 [j] 5  Slovenia 99.7 [l] 5  Belarus 99.7 5  Lithuania 99.7 5  Ukraine 99.7 10  Kazakhstan 99.6 10  Tajikistan 99.6 12  Armenia 99.5 12  Azerbaijan 99.5 12  Turkmenistan 99.5 12  Russia 99.5 16  Hungary 99.4 [j] 17  Kyrgyzstan 99.3 17  Poland 99.3 [j] 19  Moldova 99.2 [l] 19  Tonga 99.2 21  Albania 99.0 21  Antigua and Barbuda 99.0 [q] 21  Australia 99.0 [d] 21  Austria 99.0 [d] 21  Belgium 99.0 [d] 21  Canada 99.0 [d] 21  Czech Republic 99.0 [d] 21  North Korea 99.0 [d] 21  Denmark 99.0 [d] 21  Finland 99.0 [d] 21  France 99.0 [d] 21  Germany 99.0 [d] 21  Guyana 99.0 [j] 21  Iceland 99.0 [d] 21  Ireland 99.0 [d] 21  Japan 99.0 [d] 21  South Korea 99.0 [d] 21  Luxembourg 99.0 [d] 21  Netherlands 99.0 [d] 21  New Zealand 99.0 [d] 21  Norway 99.0 [d] 21  Slovakia 99.0 [d] 21  Sweden 99.0 [d] 21  Switzerland 99.0 [d] 21  United Kingdom 99.0 [d] 21  United States See also: Literacy in the United States 99.0 [d] 47  Italy 98.9 48  Samoa 98.7 [l] 48  Trinidad and Tobago 98.7 [l] 48  Croatia 98.7 51  Bulgaria 98.3 52  Spain 97.9 [d] 52  Uruguay 97.9 54  Saint Kitts and Nevis 97.8 [k] 55  Cyprus 97.7 56  Romania 97.6 56  Argentina 97.6 58  Mongolia 97.3 59  Israel 97.1 [k] 59  Greece 97.1 61  Maldives 97.0 61  Macedonia 97.0 63  Uzbekistan 96.9 [j] 64  Bosnia and Herzegovina 96.7 65  Chile 96.5 66  Serbia 96.4 67  Grenada 96.0 [q] 68  Costa Rica 95.9 69  Bahamas 95.8 [j] 70  Venezuela 95.2 71  Brunei Darussalam 94.9 71  Portugal 94.9 [l] 73  Saint Lucia 94.8 [q] 74  Hong Kong 94.6 [j] 74  Paraguay 94.6 [l] 76  Kuwait 94.5 77  Singapore 94.4 77  Fiji 94.4 [j] 79  Thailand 94.1 80  Palestinian Authority 93.8 81  Panama 93.4 81  Philippines 93.4 83  China 93.3 84  Qatar 93.1 85  Mexico 92.8 86  Colombia 92.7 87  Malta 92.4 88  Indonesia 92.0 89  Malaysia 91.9 90  Seychelles 91.8 91  Zimbabwe 91.2 [l] 92  Jordan 91.1 93  Ecuador 91.0 94  Sri Lanka 90.8 [w] 95  Bolivia 90.7 96  Suriname 90.4 97  Vietnam 90.3 98  United Arab Emirates 90.0 [l] 98  Brazil 90.0 100  Myanmar 89.9 101  Peru 89.6 101  Lebanon 89.6 [j] 103  Dominican Republic 89.1 104  Turkey 88.7 105  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 88.1 [q] 106  Dominica 88.0 [q] 107  Equatorial Guinea 87.0 108  Bahrain 88.8 109  Namibia 85.0 110  Sao Tome and Principe 84.9 111  Republic of the Congo 84.7 [l] 112  Mauritius 84.3 113  Libya 84.2 [l] 114  Gabon 84.0 [l] 115  Saudi Arabia 82.9 116  Iran 82.4 116  South Africa 82.4 118  Lesotho 82.2 119  Oman 81.4 120  Botswana 81.2 120  Cape Verde 81.2 [l] 122  Syria 80.8 123  El Salvador 80.5 [l] 124  Honduras 80.0 125  Jamaica 79.9 126  Swaziland 79.6 127  Nicaragua 76.7 128  Solomon Islands 76.6 [k] 129  Belize 75.1 [q] 130  Tunisia 74.3 131  Vanuatu 74.0 132  Cambodia 73.6 132  Kenya 73.6 134  Egypt 71.4 135  Madagascar 70.7 136  Djibouti 70.3 [j] 137  Algeria 69.9 138  Tanzania 69.4 139  Guatemala 69.1 139  Nigeria 69.1 [l] 141  Laos 68.7 142  Zambia 68.0 143  Cameroon 67.9 144  Angola 67.4 145  Democratic Republic of the Congo 67.2 146  Uganda 66.8 147  India 66.0 148  Rwanda 64.9 149  Malawi 64.1 150  Sudan 60.9 [aa] 151  Eritrea 60.5 [j] 152  Burundi 59.3 153  Ghana 57.9 154  Papua New Guinea 57.3 155  Comoros 56.8 [j] 156  Pakistan 56.20 [1] 157  Haiti 54.8 [j] 158  Yemen 54.1 [l] 159  Togo 53.2 160  Morocco 52.3 161  Mauritania 51.2 162  Timor-Leste 50.1 [ab] 163  Pakistan 49.9 164  Côte d'Ivoire 48.7 165  Central African Republic 48.6 166  Nepal 48.6 167  Bangladesh 47.5 168  Bhutan 47.0 [v] 169  Guinea-Bissau 44.8 [j] 170  Gambia 42.5 [j] 171  Senegal 39.3 172  Mozambique 38.7 173  Ethiopia 35.9 174  Sierra Leone 34.8 175  Benin 34.7 176  Guinea 29.5 177  Niger 28.7 178  Chad 25.7 179  Mali 24.0 180  Burkina Faso 23.6

42 Million American adults can’t read Source: National Institute for Literacy

50 million American adults can’t read pass a 5th grade level Source: National Institute for Literacy

Literacy Levels

Level 1 – read and write at a 5th grade level

Level 2 – 5th thru 7th grade reading and writing skills

% of each state at Level 1 literacy

Gender and Illiteracy

30%

20%

10%

URBAN

RURAL

The Rest of The World

Top Five Countries: Georgia – 100% Cuba – 99.8% Estonia -99.8% Latvia – 99.8% Barbados – 99.7%

Georgia?

No! Georgia

Texting and tweetingDo they Help or Hurt our youth?

Studies have Shown What?

That there is a link between texting and good literacy skills

Children who text are more exposed to language

One British study showed that the children who texted did better in the areas of spelling and writing.

How Can We Help?

Reading aloud to young children helps build language skills critical for later reading success.

Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, National Research Council, 1998

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

Specialized agency under the U.N. to promote international collaboration through education, science, and culture