The literacy data in Table 6.1 are based on relatively simple writing or read-
ing tests. Whether a person is functionally literate – and can comprehend the
written language sufficiently to engage with the demands of an urbanizing,
industrializing society – is a more demanding criterion. The reality of poor-
quality developing-country education systems means that even completing
nine years of schooling does not guarantee functional literacy. Internationally
comparable test scores that roughly approximate to functional literacy reveal
significant variations. In Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea and Finland less
than 5 per cent of tested students fall below the literacy threshold. Data from
developing countries shows that a large proportion of students are functionally
illiterate, including Peru (82 per cent), Saudi Arabia (67 per cent), Brazil (66
per cent), Morocco (66 per cent), South Africa (65 per cent), Botswana (63 per
cent) and Ghana (60 per cent) (Hanushek and Woessmann, 2009). In many
developing countries the share of any cohort that completes lower secondary
education and passes at least a low benchmark of basic literacy in cognitive
skills is below 10 per cent. This demonstrates that the education deficits of
developing countries are even larger than indicated by the better-known liter-
acy scores.
Health
Chapter 1 discussed in some detail measures of health in developing countries;
these include malnutrition, low body mass, height and life expectancy. Table
6.2 shows three indicators for the state of health,two representing inputs
(spending and doctors) and the other an outcome (mortality). A very clear
pattern of enormous inequalities in both inputs and output measures of health
Education and Health 119Table 6.2 Health indicators in developed and developing
countries, 2011Afghanistan Burkina Ethiopia Sweden Switzerland United
Faso StatesHealth 48.2 38.6 13.8 5418.8 9247.8 8467.0
expenditure
per capita
(current US$)
Physicians 0.2 3.8 3.9 2.5
per 1,000
people
Mortality 101.2 108.1 71.9 3.0 4.4 7.3
rate under-5s
per 1,000
live birthsSource:Data compiled from World Development Indicators(2014).