21% of adults in the USA are illiterate. 54% of the adult population reads below a 6th grade level. Personally, I find those high numbers shocking for a supposedly first-world country. Just stop and think about that for a moment when you argue with people on the Internet because some of them will never understand what you’re trying to express to them.

"Globally, the overall literacy rate stands at a commendable level. For individuals aged 15 and above, the combined literacy rate for both genders is 86.3%. Males in this age group exhibit a literacy rate of 90%, with females closely trailing at 82.7%. Notably, substantial variations exist between countries. Developed nations consistently boast adult literacy rates of 96% or higher, while the least developed countries struggle with an average literacy rate of just 65%. Accurate cross-country comparisons of literacy rates face challenges due to two primary factors: irregular reporting practices among countries, and divergent definitions of what constitutes literacy."

Where does the USA rank in literacy?

The US ranks 36th in literacy.

What about illiteracy in South Africa (my home country)?

"In 2022, the South African adult illiteracy rate was 10.2%, indicating an improvement of 1.9 percentage points from 2019 and a significant reduction of 6 percentage points over the past decade. However, it remains a source of concern that about 3.9 million adults are considered illiterate many years after democracy. [...] women continued to fare worse than men. Female illiteracy was higher (10.5%) than male illiteracy (9.8%) in 2022, implying that women continued to miss out on opportunities to fully engage in society and the labour force."

Post Image: Comparison of litteracy rates per country.