ponder

The usual definition of literacy is exactly that: the ability to read and write one's own language. I believe that that is what is measured in this World Population Review of countries' education systems. The global average quoted in this report is 72.9%, with several countries found to have literacy rates of below 50% e.g.: Chad, 27%; Burkina Faso, 31%; South Sudan 35%; Afghanistan, 37%; Central African Republic, 37%; Niger, 28%; Somalia, 41%; Guinea, 45%; and Benin, 47%. In 2021, Thailand was found to have a rate of 94% in this survey (and this is the figure quoted in their 2025 report). Of course, this is just one factor examined, but I consider it a very important one.

I could not understand why taxi drivers did this until one of my students explained: the drivers sleep in their vehicles, and the seatbelt holders would prevent them from sleeping. While this does not excuse the practice, it has made me feel sympathetic towards these drivers who eke out such a poor living that they cannot/prefer not to pay for a room to sleep in. Like many other people, I feel uncomfortable travelling in these vehicles, but I compromise: instead of refusing to travel in them, I choose the front seat where there is always a functioning seatbelt.