82 % of the adult world population can read today. And today it is the year 2010, not 1936. So the rate with which literacy rises in the game is actually a bit higher than in reality.
And believe it or not, but it is actually harder to raise literacy in a country where no one can read to begin with . Teachers who can´t read won´t do a good job teaching others how to read. Looking at Africa today it is their backwardness that makes them stay backward. Like in Victoria II it becomes a bad spiral. It was only after 1950 that some backward countries started to catch up, with the exception of Japan that started its westernization a bit earlier. Most Asian and African nations that are doing well today, have had some help from western nations. That help was not available until after WWII and definitely not during the age of imperialism. During the game period the gap between the industrialized world and the uncivil world was actually getting bigger by the minute.
I am all for alternative history in games. But there has to be some limitations to keep the game somewhat realistic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy
And believe it or not, but it is actually harder to raise literacy in a country where no one can read to begin with . Teachers who can´t read won´t do a good job teaching others how to read. Looking at Africa today it is their backwardness that makes them stay backward. Like in Victoria II it becomes a bad spiral. It was only after 1950 that some backward countries started to catch up, with the exception of Japan that started its westernization a bit earlier. Most Asian and African nations that are doing well today, have had some help from western nations. That help was not available until after WWII and definitely not during the age of imperialism. During the game period the gap between the industrialized world and the uncivil world was actually getting bigger by the minute.
I am all for alternative history in games. But there has to be some limitations to keep the game somewhat realistic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy