Lowest literacy rate

The country with the lowest adult literacy rate is Chad. According to UNESCO figures from 2022 – the most recent year for which data are available – only 27% of the country’s adults could read and write.

Chad’s education system faces numerous obstacles, contributing to its position as the country with the lowest education rate globally. In 2021, only 38% of girls and 49% of boys completed primary school, while the completion rates for lower secondary school were 14.1% for girls and 24.2% for boys. Additionally, 53% of children of lower-secondary school age are out of school, and more than half of the population remains illiterate.

The World Bank’s Human Capital Index for Chad is 0.30, indicating that a child born today will be 70% less productive as an adult than a child who receives quality education and healthcare. Children in Chad are expected to complete five years of pre-primary, primary and secondary school by age 18, but when adjusted for the quality of learning, this is equivalent to only 2.6 years of schooling. Other challenges exacerbating the situation include a dispersed population, a lack of financial resources for the Ministry of National Education, parents’ reluctance to send children to school, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, Chad hosts nearly half a million refugees from neighbouring countries, further straining the system.