Give geographical reasons (any four): Literacy rate is the indicator of economic and social development of the country.

Answer: Literacy reflects the quality of population, so it indicates the level of development.

• Literacy rate is the percentage of literate persons in the population aged 7 years and above.
• Literate people get better jobs, adopt new technology and raise productivity, which increases national income and economic development.
• Education creates awareness about health, hygiene, family planning and the rights of women, so birth rate, death rate and infant mortality fall.
• Developed countries (Japan, Norway) have nearly 100% literacy, while many less developed countries have low literacy.
• Hence literacy rate is used as an indicator of social and economic development (it is also a part of the Human Development Index).