--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, a_non_moose_ff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > I'm not terribly interested in Jason's latest India- > > > bash, but since he's brought up the category of > > > "Strange and interesting facts about literacy," what > > > country on the planet, in 1990, had the *highest* > > > percentage of literacy among its population on the > > > planet? Hint: the same country, today, has one of > > > the lowest percentages of literacy. > > > > > > You guessed it...Iraq. From the most literate nation > > > on the planet under Saddam Hussein pre-GWI > > Just curious. So the literacy rate went from the high 90s to maybe > low 40's or 50's in 15 or so years? Normal death rates are less > than 1% a year in "literate" countries -- so if ALL formal and > informal education stopped immediately (a hard assertion to > swallow), one might reasonably estimate the literacy rate fell to > low 80's. > > So, what happened to all those other 30-40% "reading and writin' > Iraquis"? Did the US invaders shoot them all? Or did they hook the > readers up to a giant brain vacuum and suck the literacy skills > right out of them? Has Art Bell or the National Inquirer got their > hands on this scoop yet?
I'm not sure exactly how a literacy rate is arrived at on a practical basis, especially in a country as unsettled as Iraq is now, but UNESCO and other official figures do show a significant drop. If the high figures came from Saddam's government, it's possible they were exaggerated. However, almost 50 percent of Iraq's population is under 15 years old. That means half its people were educated under the sanctions regime, which really did cripple its educational system (among others). Plus which, there has been a huge exodus from Iraq of educated families in recent years. Barry likes to, er, simplify things to make his putdowns, and he's never been too careful about his facts, but the basic point, that Iraq has lost ground with regard to literacy after having made considerable progress under Saddam, is valid. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/UlWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
