Literacy Rate and the Standard of Living in Europe

What is Literacy Rate? n A literate person is one who can read and write –Major factor in whether a person can get a job and be successful in the workplace n A country’s literacy rate is the percentage of the population over age 15 that can read and write

High Literacy Rates n Most European countries have high literacy rates n Many European countries are industrialized—they depend on manufacturing rather than farming for their wealth –The increased wealth allows these countries to provide better education and health care n The standard of living is high…

n The standard of living (economic level of the people in the country) is often higher in countries where the literacy rate is high High Literacy Rate = High Standard of Living

n The goal of every country is to have 100% literacy rates among its people –One reason that many people cannot read/write is that their communities cannot afford to pay for teachers or schools n Many governments, missionaries, & aid groups come to the poorest countries to assist the people in educating their children

Cycle of Poverty n Having basic reading & writing skills is very important –Without skills, workers are stuck in the lowest-paying jobs n A cycle of poverty can develop when people cannot get an education… –Illiterate people are forced to get low-paying jobs, so they cannot get enough money to pay for their children’s education…cycle continues for generations n The standard of living remains low for these families because their education level is low

Cycle of Poverty n Without the skills of reading and writing, workers cannot get better jobs n Developing countries are poor, and their people are uneducated –It is difficult to pay for education, when there is little money for food…

United Kingdom & Germany n Literacy rate of both countries is nearly 100% n Both countries have made large investments in human capital n Workforce is very well trained & educated –This has helped the standard of living in these countries improve over time

Russia n Russia has the most poverty of the 3 countries… –In the former Soviet Union, the government assigned everyone a job n Today, workers must show that they are skilled & valuable to the business in order to keep their jobs –Russia’s government is now spending large amounts of money to train workers & educate youth so that they have more opportunities to be successful in the economy –Poverty is slowly declining, & Russia’s economy is growing