The Republic of Niger, Nigeria’s Northern neighbor and the largest country in the West African subcontinent, is the world’s most illiterate country according to a list by List Top Tens.
Niger gained independence two years before Nigeria with which it shares the River Niger connection.
The landlocked country, which has over 80 percent of its land area covered by the Sahara Desert, is faced by several developmental challenges which includes desertification, overpopulation, poverty, poor health care and poor education.
It has a predominantly Islamic population of about 17million, 84.3% of whom are illiterate.
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Niger has an illiteracy rate of 84.3%
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Burkina Faso has an illiteracy rate of 77%
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Afghanistan has an illiteracy rate of 63.7%.
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Sierra Leone has an illiteracy rate of 63.7%.
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The Gambia has an illiteracy rate of 63.5%.
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Guinea-Bissau has an illiteracy rate of 63.2%
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Benin illiteracy rate of 62.5%
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Ethiopia illiteracy rate of is fixed at 61.3%
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Senegal has an illiteracy rate of 62.7%
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Mauritania has an illiteracy rate of about 60.1%
