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  • The United Nations defines il­lit­er­acy as the "in­ab­il­ity to read and write a simple message in any lan­guage."
  • The United Nations estimated that 2005, there were 785 million il­lit­er­ate adults in the world.
  • Women account for two out of three il­lit­er­ate adults. In 2000, there were 236 million more il­lit­er­ate women than men.
  • Young women who are educated tend to marry later, have fewer children, and raise health­i­er, bet­ter­-n­our­ished children who attend school.
  • The United Nations De­vel­op­ment Program 1997 report included lack of knowledge and literacy in its defin­i­tion of "human poverty." (From Fast Fact About Adult Literacy: The Global Per­spect­ive from Pro­L­it­er­acy World­wide)
  • Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.
  • There are 121 million children out of education worldwide

For more facts, see our Project and facts about Room to Read