The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has reported that the number of persons who cannot read and write with understanding in Ghana are 7.9 million.
The Service in a break down explained that there are more female illiterates compared to their male counterparts.
Out of the 7.9 million, the females lead with 4.6 million while the male illiterates are 3.3 million.
As part of commemorating World Literacy Day, the Service shared census statistics indicating that “an upcoming report from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) reveals
that 7.9 million persons aged 6 years and older in Ghana are illiterate i.e. they cannot
read and write with understanding.”
“The report also finds that between the 2010 and 2021 Population and Housing
Censuses (PHC), 1.2 million more illiterate adults (15 years and older) were added
to the population – from 4.3 million in 2010 to 5.5 million in 2021.”
According to GSS, Ghana has lower levels of adult literacy compared to its comparators (lower middle income and sub-Saharan African countries), after three years of the provisions on illiteracy captured in the Education Strategic Plan (ESP) 2018-2030.”
In view of the above information, this has led to the production of the 2021 PHC Thematic Report Brief on Illiteracy in Ghana which will be released later this month.
The report provides direction for stakeholders to target hotspots and drivers of illiteracy in Ghana as it focuses on three broad areas; trends, patterns and correlates of illiteracy.
