DHAKA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh now enjoys an all-time high literacy rate of about 73 percent, Primary and Mass Education Minister Mostafizur Rahman said on Thursday.
"The country's current literacy rate is 72.9 percent," the minister told a press briefing on the occasion of International Literacy Day, which falls on Saturday.
The current figure marks an increase of 26.24 percentage points from 2007, when Bangladesh's literacy rate stood at 46.66 percent.
Highlighting the initiatives that the government has taken, the minister said the literacy rate in the country reached 72.3 percent in September last year.
He said the literacy rate is going up gradually with the multifaceted programs adopted by the government that handed out more than 354 million free books to 43 million primary and middle school students in January.
The minister said like previous years Bangladesh will observe International Literacy Day by launching commemorative postal stamps, releasing posters and publishing special supplements.
Rallies will be held and major roadways will be decorated in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country, marking the day on Sept. 8 that was designated International Literacy Day by UNESCO in 1966.
The day was celebrated across the world since 1967 with a view to raising awareness globally on the issues surrounding adult and child literacy.
