In a recent survey from UN published in 2012, the lowest literacy rates found were found in Sierra Leone and Yemen at 59.8 percent and 60.6 percent respectively. Despite this, Yemen had the highest number of literate people in the world with an estimated 12 million people who could read and write (UN). This goes to show how crucial literacy is to the development of countries, not just economically but socially as well. For example, children who are denied access to education can end up becoming criminals which poses a risk for society as a whole. It is important that our governments take steps now so that these numbers increase over time if we want our societies to be more humane than they currently are.
