Shafaq News- Baghdad

More than 11,000 employees in Iraq's civilian and security institutions cannot read or write, the Education Ministry said, putting the national illiteracy rate at 15.3%, or an estimated 6.5 million to 6.9 million people.

These employees span both civilian and security bodies, according to ministry spokesman Karim al-Sayed. Among civilian institutions, he identified the Oil and Electricity ministries as the most affected, while citing the Defense and Interior ministries and the Popular Mobilization Forces on the security side.

The highest illiteracy rates were recorded in Nineveh in northern Iraq and the southern provinces of al-Muthanna and Maysan. Baghdad had the lowest rate at 10%, with Erbil and Saladin also among the lowest.

The figures follow a ministry disclosure in mid-August that around 20,000 staff at the Ministry of Electricity held no educational certificate, with Baghdad accounting for the largest share at 5,768.

In April, the Ministry of Planning reported that illiteracy among Iraqis aged 10 and older had fallen to about 15% in 2024, down from more than 20% in earlier years.

Read more: From educational pinnacle to illiteracy crisis: Iraq’s road to recovery