According to UNESCO, 776 million adults (16 percent of the world's adult population), lack basic literacy skills and the trend toward increased illiteracy is rising. In the United States alone, the National Center for Education Statistics estimates in 2003 that 14.5 percent of adults lack basic literacy skills. For a developed country, this falls below the higher average 90-plus percentile common to other industrialized nations.
In today's complex, technological world, literacy involves more than just reading and writing. Basic mathematical and computer skills need also be figured into the equation when determining competency at the most rudimentary levels. Many colleges today require that students take HTML classes along with mandatory English composition classes in order to be considered marketable and educated. Some high schools are even joining the trend in districts that can afford the technology.
Countries with a high level of literacy are wealthier than more illiterate countries. Adults who are able to successfully interpret symbols (i.e., language) are naturally more productive economically since they have more access to resources and information that will enable them to contribute to a global work force that moves increasingly forward into the Information Age.
Humans, by nature, are storytellers. Adults who are able to transcribe and share personal anecdotes and histories via language or other symbols typically enjoy a much more healthier social and psychological existence. Many rehabilitation programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, encourage addicts or victims of abuse to keep journals in order to more adequately analyze their experiences and emotions.
A literate adult society tends to participate more actively in political and civil matters. For this reason, oppressive regimes, such as the Taliban in Afghanistan, restrict access to education to large segments of the populations, especially women. In other totalitarian governments, such as North Korea or Cuba, the educational agenda is tightly controlled in spite of the fact that education is free.