It is estimated that some seven hundred million people, about half the world's  adult population, are unable to read or write, and there are probably two hundred and fifty million more whose level is so slight that it is hardly called literacy . Recently the attack on illiteracy had been stepped up. A world plan has been drawn up by a committee of UNESCO experts in Paris, as part of the United Nations Development Decade ,and an international conference of the subject has also been held. UNESCO stresses that functional literacy is the aim. People must learn the basic skills of responsible citizenship, the ability of reading notices, newspapers, timetables, letters, price-lists to keep simple records and accounts, to select the importance of the information gathered, and to fill in the forms. The major areas of illiteracy are in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. In Africa there are at least one hundred million illiterate people, which is eighty to eighty-five percent of the total population. In Europe the figure is about twenty-four million; most of them are in Sothern Europe, with Spain, Italy, Portugal, Yugoslavia heading the list (the United Kingdom has about seven hundred thousand). UNESGO is eager for each country in the world, poor or rich, to wipe out illiteracy. Which of the statements is true?
The major areas of illiteracy are in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. In the USA there are at least one hundred million illiterate people, the United Kingdom has about seven hundred million illiterate people In Europe the figure is about twenty-four million; most of them are in Northern Europe.