India has 24.88 crore households out of which 9.56 crore (38.42%) have at least four members who know to read and write. But there are also 2.42 crore households (9.74%) which don't have even one literate among its members. In comparison, as per the 2001 census, 35.28% of the households had at least four literate members and 14.4% had none.
India has an effective literacy rate (among people aged 7 years and above) of 74%, a marked improvement from 2001, when the literacy was just 64.84%. In rural areas, the rate is lower at about 68% while in urban areas it is 84%. A 'household' is a group of persons who normally live together and take their meals from a common kitchen,
In rural areas, out of the total 16.82 crore households, 5.80 crore (34.51%) have at least four literate members each, but there are also 2.04 crore (12.17%) households which don't have even one literate member. There are 7.30 lakh households with more than seven members and none of them literate. Majority of such households are in rural areas.
Among the big states, Bihar has the maximum number of households which don't have even one literate member. The state has 33.59 lakh (17.79%) households without a literate member. While Kerala, the most literate state in the country, has the least number of such households -- 1.21 lakh or 1.5% of the total household in the state.
