Data collection and analysis
Afghanistan
NRVA 2005 11
A demographic study should assess these findings as soon as possible.
7
3.2. Education 3.2.1. Literacy
Afghanistan is one of the countries in the world with the lowest literacy rates, especially amongst women. Therefore attention will be paid to gender issues in the
following section.
Heads of households or male respondents were asked if they and other household members could read. Slightly more than quarter 28 of the population 6 years old
and above in the country can read. The urban population has the highest literacy rate 56, followed by households in the rural areas 23, while only 6 of the
Kuchi can read. The overall literacy rate of women is 18 and that of men is 36. Female to male literacy ratio is 0.5 for all the population and the Kuchi, 0.4 in the
rural areas and 0.7 among the urban population. This ratio is 0.8 in Iran, 0.7 in India, 0.6 in Pakistan and above 0.9 in the neighbouring Central Asian countries UNDP,
2006.
Table 2: Overall literacy rates in Afghanistan for 6 years old and above
Categories Female
Male Average
Kuchi 4 8
6 Rural 13
32 23
Urban 47 64
56 National 18
36 28
Overall, the highest literacy rates in Afghanistan are found in the provinces of Kabul 58, Balkh 44. Kapisa 39, Parwan 37 and Hirat 36 and the lowest
rates are in Zabul 1, Paktika 2, Hilmand and Uruzgan 5. Kabul, the capital, has a high level of access to school; Balkh and Hirat are provinces with big
urban and high urban population with better access to education facilities. During recent years of war many households of Kapisa and Parwan have been displaced to
Kabul. These provinces have been the focus of decision makers to invest in education. Zabul, Paktika, Hilmand and Uruzgan have faced many years of
insecurity.
Overall provincial findings show that Kabul, Faryab, Hirat 0.7, Paktya, Nuristan, Kunduz, Balkh and Badakhshan 0.6 have the closest gender balance across the
country.
8
In contrast, Zabul, Paktika and Uruzgan show the lowest female to male literacy ratio 0.1 or less and absolute number. Traditions and attitudes constrain
female literacy, and this is compounded by difficult or limited access to schools.
7
Teleform errors were mentioned in section 2 and there are problems with the complex family structure and relationships in the household units. However, the gender and number of family members is likely to
be the most reliable demographic information.
8
Whilst Nuristan is the 18
th
province in terms of literacy ranking, it has a relatively high female to male literacy ratio. During the Mujahedin and Taliban leadership, some literate families moved from urban
areas to their places of origin due to security reasons and loosing their jobs. Recently, there is a considerable improvement in provincial literacy due to migration to Pakistan for religious education in
Nuristan province.
Afghanistan
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Figure 3: Literacy rate, females and males 6 years old and above Literacy in Afghanistan is associated with culture and attitudes toward literacy,
access to schools, security and public investment. The low literacy rates in the southern provinces and Paktika in southeast are mostly related to security and
cultural factors; in Badghis and Ghor, remoteness and poor access to schools and in Sar-I-Pul, limited number of schools and long distances explain the low literacy rates.
Figure 4: Literacy rate, females 6 year old and above Kabul, Balkh and Hirat have the highest rates of female literacy, while in the south
security and cultural factors constrain female literacy. Generally Kabul, Kapisa in the central part, Hirat in west and most of the north and northeast province and Ghazni
and Paktya have better female literacy rate.
Afghanistan
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Female Literacy rate is higher in Kabul, Balkh and Hirat. These provinces have higher urban resident with high access to female education. The four provinces with
the lowest female to male literacy ratio are Zabul, Paktika, Uruzgan and Hilmand. These provinces are highly insecure, traditional and have limited educational
facilities.
In the rural areas the highest literacy rate occurs in Parwan 41, Kapisa and Panjsher 40, Ghazni and Balkh 37 Kabul and Paktya 36. The lowest rates
are in Zabul 1, Paktika 2, Hilmand 5 and Uruzgan 6. Parwan, Kapisa and Panjsher have closest access to the capital of the country with lot of movement
to capital. Kabul is capital of the country and Balkh rural households have good access to education facilities. Paktya province amazingly shows the fifth highest
literacy rate. The lowest four provinces may also present security problems, traditional attitudes and limited access to schools. Rural provinces with high female
to male literacy ratio are Faryab 0.7, Hirat, Nuristan, Badakhshan and Paktya 0.6, while Zabul, Paktika, Uruzgan, Hilmand and Kandahar have the female to male ratio
of 0.1 or less.
Literacy rate in the ten provinces urban dwellers is highest in Kabul 67, followed by Jawzjan 65, Nangarhar 64, Balkh 60, Faryab 55 and Hirat
53. The lowest rate is observed in Kandahar 22.
Overall, Kuchi literacy rate is only 6 4 for women and 8 for men. The nomadic and semi-nomadic nature of this group further limits their access to basic
education. A possible way to address this limitation could be through the examination of literacy programmes for migratory groups in other parts of the world and an
adaptation of some of their elements into a strategy to promote Kuchi literacy.
The national literacy rate of the age group of 15-24 years is an indicator of the achievement of the young and productive adults this is an indicator for the MDG No.
2, Achievement of universal education by 2015. The overall average literacy for this age group is 31. The highest rate is in the urban areas 64, followed by the rural
areas 26 and only 6 among the Kuchi. The female to male literacy ratio is highest among the Kuchi households 0.9, closely followed by the urban areas 0.8
and the lowest value in the rural areas 0.3. The high female to male literacy ratio for Kuchi is relative to a 6 overall literacy rate. The NMAK survey Weijer 2005, p. 40
found that only 5 females can read out of 10,000 compared to 200 males out of 10,000. This needs further investigation. In the urban areas women have better
access to schooling, while in the rural areas both cultural traditions and low access to schools limit female literacy.
Table 3: Literacy rate among 15-24 years old population
Category Female
Male Average
Kuchi 5.6 6.1
5.9 Rural 11.6
35.7 25.6
Urban 55.4 70.5
63.6 National Average