240.3 - Footnote: Most literate nations

Footnote: Most literate nations

And as a footnote to both of the preceding, here is something I found interesting.

First, the World Economic Forum's report to which I just referred found that the most equal country in the world for women is Iceland, which has occupied the top spot for seven years in a row.

Iceland was followed by Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Ireland to finished out the top five.

Okay, another recent study, one I came across purely by coincidence, was of the world's most literate nations. It ranked nations, the authors say,

not their populace’s ability to read but rather their populace’s literate behaviors and their supporting resources.

Most equal           Most literate

There are five categories, including things related to libraries, newspapers, education inputs (such as years of compulsory schooling), education outputs (such as reading assessments), and computer availability.

Based on those criteria, the five nations that topped the list were, in order, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, and Sweden.

I was wondering if anyone else saw a pattern emerging here.

Damned socialist democracies.

Sources cited in links:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/11/19/us-falls-28th-global-gender-equality-list/76018174/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/03/08/most-literate-nation-in-the-world-not-the-u-s-new-ranking-says/
http://www.ccsu.edu/wmln/