Pakistan today is facing immense problems with terrorism, poverty, political instability, public health and nutrition. A root cause of these problems is the low literacy rate of Pakistan. Only 57 percent of people living in Pakistan have the ability to read and write (Hetland, 2012). Pakistan’s literacy rate is lower than the all of its neighboring countries except Afghanistan. India, which shares its south western border, and gained independence in the same year a, 1947, has a literacy rate of 74 percent, even though the population of India is 5 times greater than the population of Pakistan (State Department Documents, 2012). This presentation will explore how the low literacy rate in Pakistan is caused by poverty, the status of women, and a lack of demand for schools, and how illiteracy contributes to the problems of terrorism, a high child mortality rate and stunted economic growth.
