This is International Literacy Day. According to UNESCO Institute for Statistics, about 757 million adults and 115 million youths around the world cannot read or write a simple sentence, and women are the first to be denied these basic skills. Explore an interactive literacy map to see which countries are most affected.

At the International Literacy Association’s (ILA) Leaders for Literacy Day earlier this year, global illiteracy rates were discussed, showing 12 percent of the world’s population to be functionally illiterate. In the United States, 14 percent of the adult population—32 million adults—can’t read. ILA executive director Marcie Craig Post said, “We know that literacy helps people escape the bonds of poverty and live longer. We know that people who are literate are more inclined to vote, take part in their community, and seek medical help for themselves and their families.”

The ability to read is also central to understanding God’s revelation to us in the Bible. Helping people who cannot read to become literate is a worthy cause, just as is helping those who can read to become regular readers of Scripture.

“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.” – Mark Twain

For a better understanding of the problems of, and solutions to, Bible illiteracy, see the following Bible Gateway articles and features:

• Scripture Engagement Section of Bible Gateway
• The Church is Starving Itself: An Interview with Kenneth Berding
• A Summary of Recent Bible Reading Surveys
• 10 Obstacles That Get in the Way of Bible Fluency
• ‘The Story’ is Improving Bible Literacy in Churches: An Interview with Shelley Leith
• Why is Bible Engagement Down in an Age of Digital Accessibility? Rachel Barach on Technology and Scripture
• How to Understand the Bible Series of Articles
• What Does it Mean to be “Bible-minded”?
• Listen to audio Bibles on Bible Gateway
• Read the Bible in multiple languages on Bible Gateway