Adult Illiteracy Rates (15 Years Over) in the Middle East

Some 774 million adults worldwide (age 15 and over) cant read, according to the Global Campaign for Education. Heres how the Middle East countries illiteracy rates rank. Middle East Illiteracy Rates Rank Country Illiteracy rate (%) 1 Afghanistan 72 2 Pakistan 50 3 Mauritania 49 4 Morocco 48 5 Yemen 46 6 Sudan 39 7 Djibouti 32 8 Algeria 30 9 Iraq 26 10 Tunisia 25.7 11 Egypt 28 12 Comoros 25 13 Syria 19 14 Oman 18 15 Iran 17.6 16 Saudi Arabia 17.1 17 Libya 16 18 Bahrain 13 19 Turkey 12.6 20 Lebanon 12 21 U.A.E. 11.3 22 Qatar 11 23 Jordan 9 24 Palestine 8 25 Kuwait 7 26 Cyprus 3.2 27 Israel 3 28 Azerbaijan 1.2 29 Armenia 1 Sources: United Nations, 2009 World Almanac, The Economist