Graphic Truth: World literacy reaches new heights

April 22, 2024

It’s World Book Day! We’re big readers here at GZERO, and we suspect you might be as well. Alas, literature just doesn’t have the caché it once did, but in some ways we are living in a golden age of literacy. At no point ever in human history have so many people been able to read and write.

Some 87% of all people above age 15 were able to read as of 2022, up from 67% as recently as 1979. That’s a big bump, but wind the clock back a bit more to see just how far we’ve come. In 1820, the World Economic Forum estimates that just 12% of the world’s adults could read and write.

Have a look at recent progress in our chart, and don’t forget to crack open that book you’ve been meaning to get to today!

Trump faces setback in Georgia

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled Tuesday that certifying elections is a required duty of county election boards in Georgia, and they’re not allowed to refuse to finalize results based on suspicions of miscounts or fraud.

TNS/ABACA via Reuters Connect

On Tuesday, a judge in Georgia blocked a new rule requiring that election ballots be hand-counted in the state, a change that allies of former President Donald Trump wanted. Opponents of the rule, which the Georgia State Election Board passed in September, said it would cause unnecessary delays in results and lead to avoidable electoral pandemonium.

Microsoft and Internews launch the Media Viability Accelerator to strengthen independent journalism

Microsoft

The Media Viability Accelerator is a free web analytics platform built by Internews and Microsoft on Azure, funded by USAID and Microsoft's Democracy Forward initiative. Using Azure AI, the MVA harnesses the power of big data and machine learning to provide performance insights while ensuring that participants retain control over their data. Through the MVA, media outlets can access a multilingual tool that visualizes performance data and receive actionable insights to improve performance. Read more in Microsoft On the Issues’ latest newsletter.

Israel’s ‘generals’ plan’ for northern Gaza could worsen already dire humanitarian situation

Palestinians walk during the evacuation of the Jabalia refugee camp and the Sheikh Radwan and Abu Iskandar neighborhoods in the northern Gaza Strip on October 12, 2024.

Mahmoud Issa/Reuters

Israel launched a new offensive in northern Gaza earlier this month, making it even more difficult to get aid in, and the UN’s human rights office warns that the IDF “appears to be cutting off North Gaza completely.”

Russia and China put on a brave face in defense meeting

Andrei Belousov, Russia's Defence Minister, attends a meeting with Zhang Youxia, Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission, in Beijing, China, in this still image taken from video released on October 15, 2024.

Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov met with China’s top civilian defense official Zhang Youxia on Tuesday in Beijing, where both sides pledged to “continue working closely” to deepen military relations.

Hard Numbers: A quarter of Lebanon under Israeli evacuation orders, Milton costs insurers big, The EU wants its money back, Early voting in Georgia breaks records

Turkish citizens disembark naval ship TCG Bayraktar carrying people evacuated from Lebanon upon their arrival at a port in Turkey's Mediterranean coastal province of Mersin, Turkey, October 10, 2024.

REUTERS/Umit Bektas

25: Over 25% of Lebanon is facing Israeli evacuation orders, which were expanded to include 20 villages on Tuesday.

"Walmart has helped us lead the trend of non-alcoholic beer"

Walmart

Walmart is fueling American jobs and strengthening communities by investing in local businesses. Athletic Brewing landed a deal with Walmart in 2021. Since then, co-founders Bill Shufelt and John Walker have hired more than 200 employees and built a150,000-square-foot brewery in Milford, CT. Athletic Brewing is one of many US-based suppliers working with Walmart. By 2030, the retailer is estimated to support the creation of over 750,000 US jobs by investing an additional $350 billion in products made, grown, or assembled in America. Learn more about Walmart’s commitment to US manufacturing.

A Saudi tech institute chooses the US over China

In this photo illustration, the Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) logo seen displayed on a smartphone with an Artificial intelligence (AI) chip and symbol in the background.

(Photo by Budrul Chukrut / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)

Sir Edward Byrne, recently named the head of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, or KAUST, signaled that the institution will prioritize US technology and cut off ties with China if it jeopardizes its access to chips made in the US.

Graphic Truth: World literacy reaches new heights

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Israel launched a new offensive in northern Gaza earlier this month, making it even more difficult to get aid in, and the UN’s human rights office warns that the IDF “appears to be cutting off North Gaza completely.”

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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in recent days unilaterally suspended the right to asylum for migrants crossing into Poland from neighboring Belarus.

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Russia and China put on a brave face in defense meeting

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov met with China’s top civilian defense official Zhang Youxia on Tuesday in Beijing, where both sides pledged to “continue working closely” to deepen military relations.

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Read: “The Empty Space,” by Peter Brook. In this thin volume, first published in 1968, famed director Peter Brook divides theater into its “Deadly,” “Holy,” “Rough,” and “Immediate” forms.

Hard Numbers: A quarter of Lebanon under Israeli evacuation orders, Milton costs insurers big, The EU wants its money back, Early voting in Georgia breaks records

25: Over 25% of Lebanon is facing Israeli evacuation orders, which were expanded to include 20 villages on Tuesday.

"Walmart has helped us lead the trend of non-alcoholic beer"

A Saudi tech institute chooses the US over China

Sir Edward Byrne, recently named the head of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, or KAUST, signaled that the institution will prioritize US technology and cut off ties with China if it jeopardizes its access to chips made in the US.

Graphic Truth: World literacy reaches new heights

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Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

More from GZERO Media

Israel launched a new offensive in northern Gaza earlier this month, making it even more difficult to get aid in, and the UN’s human rights office warns that the IDF “appears to be cutting off North Gaza completely.”

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in recent days unilaterally suspended the right to asylum for migrants crossing into Poland from neighboring Belarus.

GZEROMEDIA

Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov met with China’s top civilian defense official Zhang Youxia on Tuesday in Beijing, where both sides pledged to “continue working closely” to deepen military relations.

Read: “The Empty Space,” by Peter Brook. In this thin volume, first published in 1968, famed director Peter Brook divides theater into its “Deadly,” “Holy,” “Rough,” and “Immediate” forms.

25: Over 25% of Lebanon is facing Israeli evacuation orders, which were expanded to include 20 villages on Tuesday.

Sir Edward Byrne, recently named the head of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, or KAUST, signaled that the institution will prioritize US technology and cut off ties with China if it jeopardizes its access to chips made in the US.