RAIPUR: As Chhattisgarh prepares for the census survey scheduled for early 2027, estimated data from the Directorate of Economics and Statistics has revealed that over 1.04 crore people--nearly a third of the state population--are still illiterate.
As of March 2027 estimates, Chhattisgarh's total population is projected to reach approximately 3,15,12,600. Out of this, the literate population is estimated to stand at 2,10,60,921, leaving a staggering 1,04,51,679 individuals who can neither read nor write.
Bridging this massive gap might remain a significant challenge for the state government and the education department in the coming years.
Literacy is seen as a key indicator of socio-economic development, indicating the educational standards of a country. Officially, a "literate" person is anyone who can read and write their own name in any language and comprehend written text.
The statistical breakdown exposes a gender disparity across the Chhattisgarh state. While the male literacy rate is relatively robust at 83.01%, female literacy languishes at just 68.16%.
An irony exists in the capital Raipur, which reflects the state's highest overall literacy rate at 86.46%. Yet, due to its high population density, it also houses the highest absolute number of illiterate individuals in the entire state, with 6,75,311 people not knowing even basic alphabets.
Senior academician Jawahar Surisetti opined that Chhattisgarh's future growth will depend not only on its natural resources but also on how effectively it converts its people into educated, empowered contributors to society.
"The statistic that Chhattisgarh may have over one crore illiterate citizens by 2027 is not merely an education challenge; it is a development emergency. Illiteracy today is not just the inability to read and write—it is exclusion from opportunities, technology, healthcare, financial services, and informed citizenship,” contended Surisetti, an advisor to government and an author.
Chhattisgarh government launched a literacy project in September 2024 to teach basics of developing reading and comprehension skills to ten lakh illiterate people in the state, with around one lakh volunteer teachers selected by the State Literacy Mission to run the literacy centres.
ULLAS is the New India Literacy Programme 2020 to empower adults and remains volunteer-based. The government is pursuing an aggressive literacy campaign targeting illiterate adults, officials said.
Maoist-affected districts within the Bastar division continue to perform poorly, failing to hit satisfactory literacy targets due to years of Naxal terror, geographical and social disruption.