Seven million Turks are illiterate: UNESCO

Seven million people above the age of 15 are illiterate in Turkey, according to statistics released by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics to mark the 50th International Literacy Day on Sept. 8. The number corresponds to nearly one seventh of Turkey's population, which is nearly 79 million.

Some 758 million people above the age of 15 throughout the world remain illiterate, but the literacy rate among youths has been increasing for the last 50 years, according to the report.

The literacy rate for people aged above 15 reached 86 percent in 2016, while the literacy ratio of adult women has risen from 77 percent to 83 percent in the last 15 years. 

The literacy rate among people aged between 15 and 24 in North Africa has trebled since 50 years ago. While this rate was 32 percent 50 years ago, it is 91 percent this year. 

A pattern of increase can also be seen in South Asia over the last 50 years. Some 39 percent of the people aged between 15 and 24 were literate 50 years ago, compared to 84 percent today. 

In Sub-Saharan Africa the number literate youths has doubled in the last 50 years, rising from 34 percent to 71 percent. 

According to a map from Turkey's Education Ministry regarding illiteracy for Turkish citizens aged above 15 in 2015, some 310,790 people in Istanbul are illiterate, while 105,614 people in Ankara and 65,573 people in İzmir are illiterate.

High illiteracy ratios among women continue to be an issue, with two thirds of illiterate people worldwide being disadvantaged women from the rural parts of developing countries. A similar case applies to Turkey, where a majority of illiterate people are women. 

"Despite all of this progress, women aged 15 to 24 years still lag behind their...