What is Literacy?
{{redirect|Reading|the action of reading|reading}} '''Literacy''' means the ability to read and write. Being able to read and write is an important [[skill]] in modern [[society|societies]]. Usually, people learn how to read and write at school. People who can read and write are called ''literate''; those who cannot are called ''illiterate''. According to [[UNESCO]], '''illiteracy''' is not being able to write or read a [[simple sentence]] in any language. They estimated that, in 1998, about 16% of the world's population were illiterate. [[File:Literacy rate world.PNG|center|500px|thumb|World literacy rates by country]] Illiteracy is highest amongst the states of the [[Arabian Peninsula]], and in [[Africa]], around the [[Sahara]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weforum.org/pdf/Global_Competitiveness_Reports/Reports/AWCR_2002_2003/Arab_Population.pdf |title=The Arab Population|author= |website= |publisher=United Nations Population Fund |accessdate=9 June 2015}}</ref> In those countries about 30% of men, and 40-50% of women are illiterate, by the UN definition. One of the causes of illiteracy is that someone who can manage to live without being able to read and write often does not have any reason to want to learn to read and write. Cultural factors also play a part, such as having a culture in which the [[oral]] tradition (communicating by speaking) is more important than writing. A tribe that mostly herds [[livestock]], for example, may have no need to read or write. There are two different kinds of illiteracy: * People with primary illiteracy have never learned how to read or write. * People who have learned some reading and writing, but not well enough for their work are called [[Functional illiteracy|functionally illiterate]]. Perhaps they cannot write well enough to fill out a form, or to understand instructions in a manual. In most [[industrial]] countries, the main problem is '''[[functional illiteracy]]'''. In [[English language|English]] the word literacy has traditionally meant to be well [[educat