The lowest literacy rates are observed in sub-Saharan Africa and in South and West Asia, according to The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) 2011 data.
Adult literacy rates were below 50% in the following 11 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Guinea, Haiti, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Sierra Leone. 
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In Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean, the average adult and youth literacy rates were greater than 90%.
No regional averages are available for North America and Western Europe due to limited data coverage.
The UIS collects data on youth and adult literacy through its annual survey on literacy and educational attainment. Adult literacy rates concern the population aged 15 years and older.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
