NEW DELHI: Illiteracy comes at a steep cost for India and its growing economy. A report compiled by the ‘World Literacy Foundation' titled ‘Economic and Social Cost of Illiteracy' has said that India illiteracy woes have cost the country $53 billion approximately annually. And if it helps soothe Indian nerves, its main rival China stands to lose a lot more to illiteracy, $135.60 billion to be exact. Russia at $28.48 billion and Brazil at $27.41 come third and fourth. In India, those who can read and write account for nearly three fourths of total population, according to the 2011 census conducted by India's census authorities. Globally, the losses caused by illiteracy are a shocking… $1.19 trillion a year, burning a huge hole in the world economy. “800 million people across the world lack the basic reading and writing skills needed to accomplish simple tasks such as reading a medicine label or filling out a job application, costing the global economy more than $1.19 trillion a year,” reads the WLF report. In a shocking revelation, the report also suggests that one of out five UK nationals are “functionally illiterate.” “Britain has up to eight million adults who are functionally illiterate,” the report said, adding that one in five of the UK population are so poor at reading and writing they struggle to read a medicine label or use a checkbook.
