Globally, an estimated 781 million adults are illiterate. Of that number, approximately 64 percent are women. UNESCO Institute for Statistics

In Sub-Saharan Africa, 42 million children are not enrolled in school. WhiteHouse.gov

Asia is home to 73 percent of the world’s illiterate population. UNESCO Institute for Statistics

In Latin America, most children attend school an average of 5.4 years. U.S. Agency for International Development

In Canada:

Four out of 10 adult Canadians, age 16 to 65 - representing 9 million Canadians - struggle with low literacy. (Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Survey, Statistics Canada and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2005)

Though the majority of Canadian youth, age 16 to 25, attain the minimum level of literacy skills needed to cope with the demands of everyday life and work, anywhere from 18 per cent to 38 per cent of youth, depending upon the region of the country, do not attain that minimum proficiency. (International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS), 2005)

Sixty per cent of immigrants have low literacy, compared with 37 per cent of native-born Canadians. (International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS), 2005)

To learn more about global illeteracy statistics you can visit Unesco’s website.