By the early 20th century, countries like Britain and Sweden were industrialized states with very high GDP per capita and very high literacy rates, while Spain and Portugal were very backwards and primitive states with very little industrial development and very illiterate populations. As late as 1910, as many as 50% of Spaniards were illiterate, and only a mere 25% of Portuguese knew how to read and write. Portugal and Spain were probably closer to North Africa than Britain in terms of socioeconomic development. Even Russia, which had a literacy rate comparable to Portugal at the beginning of the 20th century, became rapidly modernized under Stalinist rule, and by 1950 had one of the most highly educated and literate populations in the world. Portugal, however, continued to lag behind; as late as 1950, it had a literacy rate of just 55% (comparable to poor Middle Eastern countries), and it was only a couple decades ago that Portugal achieved near-universal literacy (>95%).
Quoting from "A Historical Perspective on Child Labour in Portugal, 1950-2001" by Pedro Goulart and Arjun S. Bedi:
Likewise in Spain, illiteracy was rife until the later 20th century. In fact, even Spanish colonies like Argentina had significantly higher literacy rates than Spain itself, and this was probably a major factor in why Argentina experienced greater economic growth than Spain (in the early 20th century, Argentina had one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, far surpassing Iberian nations). Argentines of Spaniard descent had a literacy rate of 74% in 1914, while Spaniards living in Spain had an average literacy rate of just 50% during the same time period. Quoting from p.414 of the Cambridge Economic History of Latin America, Vol. 2:
In strong contrast, England by the mid-18th century already had literacy rates higher than Portugal in the 20th century, and comparable to Spain in the 20th century:
Likewise in Scandinavia, the work of Egil Johansson has showed conclusively that even as early as the late 17th century, the percentage of Swedes who could read was likely higher than the percentage of Spaniards and Portuguese who could read in the 20th century. The following table is from p.176 of Literacy and Social Development in the West by Harvey J. Graff (ed.), which contains a section written by Egil Johansson on reading ability and educational traditions in Sweden. The table lists reading ability (organized by age-group) in three Swedish localities in the late 17th and early 18th centuries:
By 1800, a majority of adults in Protestant Northwestern Europe were literate, while the same would not be achieved throughout the Iberian Peninsula until the second half of 20th century. Even the Soviet Union and other Marxist-Leninist eastern European states achieved much higher literacy rates than the Iberian nations, and achieved this in much faster time. What are the reasons for this vast disparity in social development between the Iberian peninsula and other parts of Europe, especially the Protestant North?
Quoting from "A Historical Perspective on Child Labour in Portugal, 1950-2001" by Pedro Goulart and Arjun S. Bedi:
Likewise in Spain, illiteracy was rife until the later 20th century. In fact, even Spanish colonies like Argentina had significantly higher literacy rates than Spain itself, and this was probably a major factor in why Argentina experienced greater economic growth than Spain (in the early 20th century, Argentina had one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, far surpassing Iberian nations). Argentines of Spaniard descent had a literacy rate of 74% in 1914, while Spaniards living in Spain had an average literacy rate of just 50% during the same time period. Quoting from p.414 of the Cambridge Economic History of Latin America, Vol. 2:
In strong contrast, England by the mid-18th century already had literacy rates higher than Portugal in the 20th century, and comparable to Spain in the 20th century:
Likewise in Scandinavia, the work of Egil Johansson has showed conclusively that even as early as the late 17th century, the percentage of Swedes who could read was likely higher than the percentage of Spaniards and Portuguese who could read in the 20th century. The following table is from p.176 of Literacy and Social Development in the West by Harvey J. Graff (ed.), which contains a section written by Egil Johansson on reading ability and educational traditions in Sweden. The table lists reading ability (organized by age-group) in three Swedish localities in the late 17th and early 18th centuries:
By 1800, a majority of adults in Protestant Northwestern Europe were literate, while the same would not be achieved throughout the Iberian Peninsula until the second half of 20th century. Even the Soviet Union and other Marxist-Leninist eastern European states achieved much higher literacy rates than the Iberian nations, and achieved this in much faster time. What are the reasons for this vast disparity in social development between the Iberian peninsula and other parts of Europe, especially the Protestant North?
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