Report: Illiteracy rates in Palestine drop to 3.3%

Palestinian Bedouin children receive education in classroom at the only school in the region ‘Itarat School’ in Khan al-Ahmar region of Jerusalem on 16 July, 2018 [İssam Rimawi/Anadolu Agency]

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said yesterday that the illiteracy rate has declined significantly among Palestinians to reach 3.3 per cent in 2017 compared to 13.9 per cent in 1997.

Marking International Literacy Day, the PCBS said in a report that those aged 65 and over recorded the highest illiteracy rate of 34.6 per cent, while Palestinians aged 30-44 and 15-29 had the lowest rate.

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According to the report, the illiteracy rate among males was 1.7 per cent compared to 0.5 per cent among females.

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) the illiteracy rate in Palestine is the lowest in the world. Illiteracy in the Arab reached 24.8 per cent in 2016.

UNESCO defines an illiterate as a person who can not read and write a simple sentence about his daily life.

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