Taiwan’s literacy rate hit a record high of 98.04 percent at the end of 2010, up from 95.55 percent in 2000, according to the Ministry of the Interior Feb. 19.
“A nation’s literacy rate reflects its educational and overall development level,” the MOI said. “It is also an indicator of national competitiveness.”
Citizens aged 65 and above account for 13.11 percent of those who cannot read, while there are almost no illiterates among citizens in the 15 to 24-year-old range, the MOI noted.
According to the MOI, Taiwan’s literacy rate ranks fourth in Asia, after Japan, North Korea and South Korea, all of which have literacy rates of 99 percent. Hong Kong, mainland China and Singapore have literacy rates of 94.6, 93.3 and 94.4 percent, respectively.
The MOI figures also indicated that the number of citizens holding a master’s or doctoral degree reached 925,000 at the end of 2010, up from 722,000 in 2007. As of the end of last year, 3.98 million citizens held a bachelor’s degree.
The population with a master’s degree has increased the fastest among all degree holders over the past 10 years. “Judging from the rate of growth, the number of master’s and doctorate holders is set to hit 1 million by the end of 2011,” the MOI said. (HZW)
Write to Grace Kuo at morningk@mail.gio.gov.tw