Not just literacy: English matters.

We are missing the 16 other nations which has higher GDP .. far a country to grow you need discipline among the people and the leader and the country should be free of corruption .. the root cause of failure for india is corruption .. if we remove corruption from our country or control corruption … then within a few months India will be in the top GDP countries ..
If every Indian business man pays his tax honestly to the goverment , If everyindian performs his work . India would become the worlds best country ..
Our Country should be legally Illegal because if you have money and power you can get away with murder in India ..
 
 
 

Fully agree, Biju. Indeed, as I have mentioned, the key determinant of wealth is freedom.

But it is good to know English in this globalised world the ‘operating system’ (internet and key software) of which is written in English.

Regards
Sanjeev

Interesting analysis, but I can’t believe Japan does not make the list. Japan is one of the most productive countries even to this day. One of the richest too.

I don’t think English literacy will make a huge difference; considering that the future is in Asia; not the West anymore.

Sanjeev,

This diagram through simple in depiction, is teally thought proviking. As you have highlited the countries which are satisfying all the three parameters -literacy, GDP and producticity are English speaking countries. Historically these countries are closely associated in shared origins and politics. Hence one can say they progressed with mutual help and association.

The second aspect is, that why have some countries with high literacy not been able to leverage the human pool of talent to increase productivity and GDP. Except for certain sectors like banking, IT & ITES, advantage of knowing English does not prevail. In manufacituring sector, knowing ones local langauge is an advantage. The question is why have these failed to leverage that advantage. India might be able to learn some lessons from it.

The third aspect is that why have the countries with high GDP and Productivity, not focused on educating the population. If seems odd that most are European countires, and are not pre-deminantly conventional societies, so what is hindering them from growth.

I think an excellent diagram to figure out the Country risks.

Sonia 

Dear Sanjeev,
Thanks for the great information. I think the most important fact staring right at our face is the total lack of correlation between literacy and prosperity. Due to decades of socialist thinking, many of our well-to-do urban Indians, look down upon the rural population for the sole reason that they cannot read and write. So it is assumed that they cannot take care of themselves and we have to control their lives for their own good. So governments spend huge funds just to make people literate. This is just an authoritative mindset. Free the rural economy first. Let them create wealth. They will educate their children with their own hard earned wealth. IPeople need marketable skills – not mere knowledge of learning to read. All the fancy degrees mean nothing if they cannot secure a livelihood for a person

Regards,
Surya.

This interpretation is kind of forced. You are drawing a causal relationship between English Literacy and wealth. Consider the data from your own chart, 80% (16 out of 20) of the wealthiest countries are not the most literate and don’t have English as their mother tongue! Would you still say English literacy is the determinant of wealth?
How about the possibility that literacy followed wealth creation and the fact that some of those most literate countries are English is just historical.
I agree that learning English is a must in today’s world (a point proven more easily by showing the amount of trade, science and international communication which happens in English).

This is a really completely false conclusion to reach. Japan, a tiny nation, until recently had 2nd highest GDP in the world. They dont speak English. Finland and Estonia can understand each others languages and are very similar populations but their economic situation is different because Estonia was under the rule of Soviets, while Finland was free. Finland is very high per capita GDP nation (much higher than UK) and dont speak English. Most people do understand English and you see many signs in English, but that is only because they are a trading nation and have visitors from all over.
Another similar case is Sweden. Their population is half of Mumbai. (Half of 1 city in India) and they can make Bofors gun to sell to India, Audi cars to sell to India and so many other high tech products. No English as first language. Everyone speaks swedish. Its education and open culture of trading. These countries follow the Nordic Model of economic policy. As a result I believe that English is not the key, but education along with market based economy is the key.
 

Dear Anuj

The point you make is very well taken. It is NOT just language or literacy that matters, but FREEDOM – although there are generally at least some correlations between greater literacy and greater freedom.

The point is that being highly literate in a local language that has little links with the rest of the world doesn’t help too much, either. In this global world, India is well advised to focus on English as a key language for literacy, apart from the regional/local language.

Regards
Sanjeev

Good points, RC: You are right: “English is not the key, but education along with market based economy is the key.”

Indeed, I believe that ultimately only ONE variable matters: the level of freedom.

However, the current data (although in my view, flawed), do point to this: that ONLY English speakers among the topmost 20 literate countries figured in the top 20 in income.

This means that a) literacy per se is not the key variable; and b) if you do want to be highly literate, then get educated in English.

As far as India is concerned, this supports my view that the primary language of India should be English and we ought to aim for similar proficiency in our other languages. We can’t go around learning Chinese or Swedish. Each of us should aim to learn ONE global language and ONE local language.

Regards
Sanjeev

Your education system, legal system judiciary and everything should work in mother tongue to practise equality in true sense. Use of foreign language as compulsory in education and governance creates worst form of discrimination between haves and have not. It make sure the elite remains elite and poor remains poor.

Russia france japan korea china etc all study in their mother tongue, they learn English only for communication and not to replace their mother tongue as language for education and governance.

America , England Australia follow English not because English is must to progress but bcz its their mother tongue.

Root cause of continuation of reservation policy is growing and expanded and compulsory use of English language in our education and jobs.

In these three categories do you find a single nation whose mother tongue is not English and which has adopted English as a language of education and governance and figured in any of these three lists of top 20 countries?

It depends on individual how they interpret it.