The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, ISESCO, has said that combating illiteracy contributes to economic growth in the Islamic world.

In its statement on the occasion of International Literacy Day, ISESCO said that analysing the current relationship between literacy, employment and economic growth in the Islamic world reveals that a large segment of the active population does not benefit adequately from education services, preventing them from fully developing their skills and improving their competitiveness to be appreciated in the labour sector.

International Literacy Day, celebrated annually on 8th September, is an opportunity for Governments, civil society and stakeholders to highlight improvements in world literacy rates, and reflect on the world's remaining literacy challenges. The issue of literacy is a key component of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The theme of this year's International Literacy Day is ‘Literacy in a Digital World’. On 7 and 8 September, 2017 a special two-day event will be organised at UNESCO’s Headquarters in Paris, with the overall aim to look at what kind of literacy skills people need to navigate increasingly digitally-mediated societies, and to explore effective literacy policies and programmes that can leverage the opportunities that the digital world provides.