Illiteracy: rate among blacks is double that among whites – 07/06/2023 – Educação

The illiteracy rate among blacks and browns fell in 2022 to the lowest level (7.4%) of a historical series that started in 2016 in Brazil, but it is still more than double that registered among whites (3.4%).

This inequality is pointed out by a survey released this Wednesday (7) by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).

From 2019 to 2022, the illiteracy rate among black or mixed-race people aged 15 years or over dropped from 8.2% to 7.4% in the country. It was the first time in the historical series that the indicator was below 8%.

Meanwhile, the illiteracy rate among whites aged 15 or over rose from 3.3% in 2019 to 3.4% in 2022. The numbers are part of a module on education by Pnad Contínua (National Survey by Household Sample To be continued).

The comparison is made with 2019 because the survey questionnaires were interrupted in 2020 and 2021 due to the restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the methodology used in the research, those who can read and write a simple note are considered literate.

In general terms, the illiteracy rate among people aged 15 and over in Brazil fell from 6.1% in 2019 to 5.6% in 2022. The most recent level is the lowest in the historical series that started in 2016.

In absolute terms, the country still had 9.6 million illiterates in 2022 – there were 10.1 million in 2019. The most recent contingent is also the lowest in the series.

Of the total of 9.6 million illiterates in 2022, 6.9 million were black or brown, and 2.5 million were white.

“Illiteracy has been reducing. This reduction has occurred due to the fact that there is schooling, that people are being literate during childhood, due to the compulsory basic education”, said Adriana Beringuy, coordinator of Surveys by Household Samples at the IBGE.

For the first time, more than half of the population aged 25 or over (53.2%) completed at least compulsory basic education – that is, they had at least completed secondary education in 2022.

Among black or brown people in this age group, however, the percentage was lower, 47%. Among white women, the proportion was above average, estimated at 60.7%.

The problem affects the elderly more

According to the IBGE, illiteracy “is directly associated with age”. The older the population group, the greater the proportion of people who cannot read and write.

In 2022, the illiteracy rate was 16% among Brazilians aged 60 and over. In this same age group, the indicator was 23.3% among blacks or browns and 9.3% among whites.

IBGE data also draw attention to regional disparities. Last year, the Northeast had the highest illiteracy rate (11.7%) and the Southeast, the lowest (2.9%). South (3%), Midwest (4%) and North (6.4%) complete the list.

In the elderly group (60 years or older), the differences are even more marked. In this age group, the rate was 32.5% in the Northeast and 8.8% in the Southeast.

Among the Federation units, the highest levels of illiteracy were observed in Piauí (14.8%), Alagoas (14.4%) and Paraíba (13.6%).

The lowest rates are in the Federal District (1.9%), Rio de Janeiro (2.1%), São Paulo (2.2%) and Santa Catarina (2.2%).