Up to 90% of 10-year-olds in world's poorest countries struggle to read

World Bank targets 'learning poverty' as research shows major shortfall in basic reading skills among least privileged children

Nine out of 10 children in the world's poorest countries are unable to read a basic book by the age of 10 - a situation mirrored in reverse in rich countries, where only 9% cannot do so by the same age.

Data compiled by the World Bank and the UN also shows that when low- and middle-income countries are taken together - a total of 135 states - more than half of all children cannot read a simple text at 10 years old.