In India, the ‘effective literacy rates' are calculated from

In India, the 'effective literacy rate' is calculated based on the population aged 7 years and above [2]. According to the Census of India, a person is considered literate if they are aged seven or older and can read and write with understanding in any language [1]. This methodology was adopted starting from the 1991 Census; prior to this, literacy rates were often calculated using the total population, which is now referred to as the 'crude literacy rate'. The exclusion of the 0-6 age group is based on the rationale that children in this bracket are generally not expected to have acquired formal reading and writing skills [1]. Consequently, the denominator for the effective literacy rate is the total population minus the child population aged 0-6. As of the 2011 Census, India's effective literacy rate was recorded at approximately 74.04% [4].

Sources

1. [1] Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 13: Cultural Setting > LITERACY RATE > p. 88
2. [2] Understanding Economic Development. Class X . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 1: DEVELOPMENT > Explanation of some of the terms used in this table: > p. 9
3. [3] Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 13: Cultural Setting > Spatial Patterns of Literacy > p. 89
4. [4] Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 19: Population and Demographic Dividend > Is legislation on population regulation really required in the current scenario? > p. 570