ILOILO CITY – The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the province of Iloilo has the lowest literacy rate in Western Visayas for persons who are 10 years and older.
PSA: Iloilo logs lowest literacy rate in Western Visayas for 10-years-old above
By Tara Yap
In the 2024 Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS), the PSA-6 said that the province has a literacy rate of 68.4 percent.
The province that consists of 42 towns and a component city lagged behind other areas in the region.
Iloilo was behind the regional capital of Iloilo City with 70.7 percent, Capiz with 70.9 percent, Guimaras with 73 percent, and Antique, 73.8 percent.
The province of Aklan has the highest literacy rate with 73.9 percent.
“The survey aims to provide a quantitative framework that will serve as a basis for the formulation of policies and programs on the improvement of literacy and education status of the population,” the PSA-6 noted in a presentation of the results on Thursday, June 5.
Western Visayas has an overall 89.6 percent basic literacy rate. “This is marginally lower than the country’s basic literacy rate of 90 percent,” PSA-6 added.
This means that nine out of 10 people aged five years or older in the region are literate.