A Stubborn Problem in Many Arab Countries

By Sarah Lynch. In a nation struggling with economic distress after prolonged political unrest, Egyptians face another chronic obstacle to development: widespread illiteracy. The percentage of the population—10 years old and over—that cannot read and write last year stood at 25.9 percent, according to data recently released by Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. Egyptians aren’t alone in this struggle: In several other Arab countries including Yemen, Morocco, and South Sudan more than one quarter of the population is illiterate. More...