MALAYSIA has been ranked 53 out of 61 countries in the World’s Most Literate Nations (WMLN) list, besting only eight other countries, including neighbouring Indonesia (60) and Thailand (59).

In the study, Malaysia was also found to be more literate than Albania, Panama, South Africa, Columbia, Morocco and Botswana.

Finland emerged top on the list, followed by Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, Germany, Latvia and the Netherlands. Malaysia’s southern neighbours Singapore ranked 36th on the list, while other Asian countries on the list are South Korea (22), Japan (32) and China (39).

Other countries on the list which ranked higher than Malaysia included Greece, Chile, Qatar and Mexico.

Information from the CCSU website said the World’s Most Literate Nations (WMLN) ranks nations on their populace’s literate behaviours and their supporting resources, and not necessarily based on their populace’s ability to read.

“The rankings are based on five categories standing as indicators of the literate health of nations: libraries, newspapers, education inputs and outputs, and computer availability.

“This multi-dimensional approach to literacy speaks to the social, economic, and governmental powers of nations around the globe,” said CCSU.

However, turning up at the bottom 15% in the study, which was conducted by the Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) and released in March last year, should not be viewed negatively, according to Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Masidi Manjun.

“We are on the 53rd rung, but are still better than Thailand and Indonesia,” he was quoted as saying by The New Straits Times yesterday. – October 24, 2017.