TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Nearly nine million Iranians are suffering from "absolute illiteracy", a news report compiled by parliament’s Research Center (MRC) says.
Iran's population has risen to 82 million from less than 40 million four decades ago, but the country's economy is struggling with unemployment and poverty.
Iran has implemented three strategic plans for eradicating illiteracy in the country. Based on the World Bank statistics, the literacy rate reached 85.5% in Iran in 2016.
UNESCO's statistics show that 2% of under 24-year-old population of Iran are suffering from absolute illiteracy.
In March 2018, head of Iran's Literacy Movement Organization Ali Baqerzadeh told the Iran Students News Agency (ISNA) that the number of absolute illiterate in the country was 8.8 million, and the number of semi-illiterates stood at 11 million.
Sistan andBaluchestan, Kurdestan, West Azarbaijan, Lorestan, and Ardabil provinces respectively have the highest rate of illiteracy in the country.