Illiteracy in Jordan maintains downtrend — statistics

AMMAN — Illiteracy rate in Jordan dropped by 4.2 per cent from 2000 to 2016, the Department of Statistics (DoS) announced on Wednesday. 

According to the DoS, the total percentage of illiteracy in Jordan stands at 6.8 per cent with females constituting the majority. 

A DoS statement, released on the occasion of the International literacy Day, said that the rate among males stood at 3.5 per cent, while 10 per cent of Jordanian females are illiterate.

The highest illiteracy rates are concentrated among the ages of 65 and above, recording 39 per cent, according to the statement, which added that the rates dropped among people of 15-24, recording 0.8 per cent. 

As per cities, the highest rate of illiteracy was recorded in Maan and Mafraq. 

The Sisterhood Is Global Institute (SIGI) also issued a statement on the occasion, citing UNESCO statistics that show that Jordan ranked 52nd among 158 countries in terms of illiteracy, and fifth among Arab countries after Libya, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. 

Jordanians who are 13 years old and above totalled 3,635,813 people, with 309,359 illiterates, 202,557 of whom are women constituting 65.4 per cent of the total illiterate people, according to the 2015 population census, cited by the SIGI statement, which underlined an analytical paper by the DoS on the marital status in Jordan, showing that 32.9 per cent of illiterate females and 5.5 per cent of illiterate males have got married at the age of 17 or less.

Illiteracy among elderly Jordanian women (60 years and older) stood at 48.9 per cent, compared to 17.9 per cent of old men who are 60 plus years old.

Out of the 249,241 Jordanian families that are headed by women, 74,501 families are headed by illiterate women, constituting 30.4 per cent.