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International concern has grown over the illiteracy and education inequality found in China, said a senior official of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Tuesday.

"Although China has maintained strong progress toward universal adult literacy, its illiterate population is still one of the biggest in the world," said Tang Qian, assistant director-general for the education sector under the UNESCO, during a forum in Beijing on Tuesday.

"China has the biggest educational system in the world and largest population among developing countries," he said. "So when China makes progress, the resulting statistics for the world are impressive."

China, when gauged according to the numbers of its citizens who are illiterate adults, ranks eighth worst among 10 sample countries selected from around the world, according to a report released by UNESCO on Tuesday.

About 72 percent of the illiterate adults in the world live in the 10 countries, according to the report.

Across the planet, nearly 796 million adults lack basic literacy, making up about 17 percent of the world's adult population, according to the latest data from UNESCO.

The vast majority of them live in South and West Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, although Arab states also have high levels of adult illiteracy, said the report.

"China has made rapid advances in cutting down the number of school drop-outs in recent years," according to Yuan Guiren, minister of education.

For example, about 80 percent of Chinese were illiterate in 1949, and the figure fell to less than 3.5 percent in 2010, he said.

"The country also has topped the world in number of people who have received higher education, which has increased about 265 times during the past 60 years," he said.

Tang said at Tuesday's forum that "wider education inequalities between rural and urban regions are restricting opportunities in China," although this obstacle is not only present in China. Chinese experts warned that the low quality of the schooling offered in many rural areas is making it difficult for students from such places to be admitted to universities.

Only about one in five students at China's leading universities come from rural areas, according to the 21st Century Education Research Institute.

Questions:

1. What is China’s ranking in adult illiteracy?

2. What percentage of illiterate people live in the 10 countries?

3. How many people in the world are illiterate?

Answers:

1. Its illiterate population is still one of the biggest in the world, ranking eighth worst among 10 sample countries selected from around the world, according to a report released by UNESCO.

2. About 72 percent of the illiterate adults in the world live in the 10 countries.

3. Across the planet, nearly 796 million adults lack basic literacy, making up about 17 percent of the world's adult population.

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（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.