Introduction

This indicator can be defined as the proportion of the adult population aged 15 years and over that is literate and provides a measure of the population of literate persons within this age group who are capable of using written words in daily life.

Assessment of Data

The Mpumalanga Department of Social Services, Population and Development reported that 29% of the population in the province aged 20 years and older received no schooling or formal education at all, constituting almost a third of the population in this age group (DSSPD, 2001). In addition, it is estimated that only 5% of the population in the province has post-school qualifications. Furthermore, it was reported that only 47% of Grade 12 learners in the province obtained their matriculation in 1996 and that Mpumalanga has a high percentage of ever-age learners (HSRC, 1998). The graph below shows the adult literacy rate in Mpumalanga (79% in 1996) compared with the adult literacy rate for South Africa (86% in 1996) as a whole.