Literacy in Pakistan

The current state of education in Pakistan remains abysmal.

+ The overall literacy rate in Pakistan stands at 28%. For males, the rate is 39%. For females, it is 25%.

+ Pakistan spends less than 2.5% of its GDP on education, a level well below the 5% minimum recommended by UNESCO.

+ Despite the government’s claim to fight literacy, 10 million children of primary school-going age are not enrolled in any educational institution.

+ More than 50% of children enrolled in schools drop out before they reach 5th grade.

+ In 1990, for every 100 girls of primary school age, only 30 attended school. Among girls of secondary school age, only 13 were enrolled in school. Among girls of the third level (grades nine and ten), only 1.5 out of 100 were in school. Despite these harrowing statistics, Pakistan has never had a systematic, nationally coordinated effort to improve female primary education.

+ The disparity between rural and urban areas is even more marked. In 1981, only 7% of women in rural areas were literate, compared with 35% in urban areas. Among men, these rates were 27% and 57% respectively.

+ Pakistan ranks second among the countries of the world with the highest number of out-of-school children, second only to Nigeria.

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Statistics and information from the Asian Development Bank and Dawn