What is literacy and why is it important?
Literacy is a fundamental human right and falls under Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education. Target 4.6 reads: “By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.”
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines literacy as “a continuum of learning and proficiency in reading, writing and using numbers throughout life”.
As the World Literacy Foundation indicates, people who are unable to read and write struggle to perform basic tasks, such as reading traffic signs or filling in job applications. Literacy correlates with community development; higher literacy is associated with improved socioeconomic outcomes, including poverty alleviation.
UNESCO’s Global Alliance for Literacy points out that around 750 million people worldwide are illiterate – two-thirds of whom are women. Around 27% live in sub-Saharan Africa, and there are about 4 million illiterate people in South Africa, according to a Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) adult illiteracy fact sheet.
Although more than 86% of the world’s population can read and write (up from 68% in 1979), the situation in South Africa remains challenging.
Literacy in South Africa is higher than in sub-Saharan Africa in general, but the country is experiencing a literacy crisis. The percentage of grade 4 pupils who cannot read for meaning in any language stood at 81% in 2021, according to the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS).
South Africa experienced the greatest decline in reading outcomes of the 33 regions participating in the study. Pupils in the poorest 70% of schools are 10 times less likely to read for meaning than those in the wealthiest 10%, deepening existing inequality.
Investing in literacy creates ripple effects across society, including increased employment opportunities, enhanced social participation, and improved economic outcomes. This topic explores interventions companies can consider to improve basic literacy.
