Literacy ALCS 2013 14 Main Report English 20151222

151 Figure 9.8: Population 15 years and over, by educational attainment, and by age, for a males and b females in percentages a. Males b. Females

9.4 Literacy

9.4.1 Literacy in residential and gender perspective Literacy generally denotes the ability to read and write and to use written words in everyday life. Literacy is one of the intended outcomes of education , as well as a measure of a person’s ability to function in society and his or her potential for further intellectual growth and contribution to economic and socio-cultural development of society. The complementary illiteracy indicates the extent of need for policies and efforts in organizing adult literacy programmes and quality primary education. According to ALCS 2013-14, this represents 66 percent of the total population 15 and older. The adult literacy rate – referring to the population aged 15 and over – indicates the accumulated achievement of primary education and literacy programmes in providing basic literacy skills to the population. Table 9.5 indicates very low adult literacy rates for Afghanistan, with 34 percent overall literacy in the population 15 years and over. The complementary illiteracy rate of 66 percent implies that there are around 9.7 million illiterate persons aged 15 and older in Afghanistan, 5.9 million women and 3.8 million men. The adult literacy rate presented in Table 9.5 also shows pronounced differences by residence: in the urban population the adult literacy rate is almost twice as high as that in the rural population 54 against 29 percent, whereas among the Kuchi adult literacy is as low as 8 percent. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 1 5 -1 9 2 -2 4 2 5 -2 9 3 -3 4 3 5 -3 9 4 -4 4 4 5 -4 9 5 -5 4 5 5 -5 9 6 -6 4 6 5 -6 9 7 -7 4 7 5 + No education completed Completed primary Completed secondary Completed tertiary 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 1 5 -1 9 2 -2 4 2 5 -2 9 3 -3 4 3 5 -3 9 4 -4 4 4 5 -4 9 5 -5 4 5 5 -5 9 6 -6 4 6 5 -6 9 7 -7 4 7 5 + No education completed Completed primary Completed secondary Completed tertiary 152 Table 9.5: Adult literacy rate, by residence, and by sex in percentages; Gender equity indicators, by residence Sex and gender National