Brasília, April 24, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics' (IBGE) most recent census, for the year 2000, indicate that Brazil has 16,294,889 illiterates 15 years of age or older, and nearly half are over 50. The state with the largest number of illiterates is Bahia (2,057,9077), followed by São Paulo (1,810,618).

More than half the country's illiterates live in the North region, 8,383,342, followed by the Southeast, with 4,316,576. This in terms of absolute numbers, because, as a proportion of the population, the highest rate of illiteracy is found in Alagoas, 33.4%, followed by Piauí, with 30.5%.

The lowest illiteracy rate occurs in the Federal District, 5.7%, followed by Santa Catarina, with 6.3%. (DAS)