Radio Farda:

Nearly nine million Iranians are suffering from "absolute illiteracy" a news report compiled by Majles (Iranian parliament) Research Center (MRC) says.

Iran's population has risen to 82 million from less than 40 million four decades ago, but the country's economy is struggling with high rates of unemployment and poverty.

Statistics compiled by international organizations, such as UNESCO show that the number of "absolutely illiterate" people in the Islamic Republic is much higher, despite the implementation of three strategic plans for eradicating illiteracy in Iran.

Based on the World Bank statistics, nearly 65% of the population were literate in pre-Islamic Revolution (1979) in Iran (with the same rate in Turkey). The same rate in 2016 reached 85.5% in Iran, while in Turkey it was 96%.

Therefore, the World Bank assessment shows that 11.6 million absolute illiterate people are living in Iran, today.

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