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Global Historical Literacy Trends
Data Science and Analytics
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About
Literacy estimates serve as a crucial measure of a population’s educational attainment. This collection of data discusses historical trends and recent developments in global literacy rates. Historically, literacy levels have improved dramatically; in 1820, only about one in ten people worldwide could read and write, a share that has since reversed, leaving only one in ten illiterate today. Despite overall improvements, significant challenges persist in the world’s poorest countries where large segments of the population still face constraints due to illiteracy.
Columns
The dataset contains four key columns:
- Entity: Identifies the country or geographical region (e.g., World, Latin America and Caribbean (WB)) for which the literacy estimate applies. There are 270 unique entities represented.
- Code: Provides the corresponding identifying codes for the entities.
- Year: The specific year associated with the literacy measurement, spanning from 1475 up to 2022.
- Historical and more recent literacy estimates: The actual calculated literacy rate values for the given entity and year.
Distribution
The data is provided in a CSV format (
cross-country-literacy-rates new.csv) and totals 74.31 kB. It contains 2316 validated records or rows. The time range covered extends from the year 1475 to 2022.Usage
This data is ideally suited for academic research and educational analysis focusing on global educational development. Specific use cases include:
- Mapping historical shifts in educational attainment worldwide.
- Studying the expansion of basic education across different time periods and regions.
- Investigating persistent education inequalities, particularly in low-income nations.
- Creating visualisations in tools like PowerBi, Looker Studio, or R to display trends.
- Utilisation in data analysis environments like pandas for statistical exploration.
Coverage
The scope of this information is global, featuring data for specific countries and broader geographical groupings such as regional aggregates. The time scope is exceptionally broad, covering estimates from 1475 through to 2022. This extensive range allows for long-term historical analysis of literacy trends.
License
CC0: Public Domain
Who Can Use It
Intended users include data scientists, educational policy analysts, historians, and researchers. Examples of use cases:
- Policy Analysts: Evaluating where basic education remains a constraint for national development.
- Historians: Tracing the exact timeline and magnitude of global literacy expansion since the early 19th century.
- Data Visualisers: Generating interactive charts illustrating cross-country literacy rates and trends over centuries.
Dataset Name Suggestions
Global Historical Literacy Trends, Cross-Country Literacy Rates (1475-2022), Population Education and Literacy Estimates, World Literacy Trends Since 1820
Attributes
Original Data Source: Global Historical Literacy Trends
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