illiteracy

noun

1. (uncountable)The inability to read and write.

   “Illiteracy is widespread in certain areas of the country.”

   “The heroines of these plays speak out against intraracial biases, stereotyping, lynchmobs, illiteracy, poverty, promiscuity, self-righteousness, verbally abusive men, rape, and miscegenation. […] Without warning the doctor, she chokes the life out of her child in order to keep him safe from white lynchmobs.”

2. (uncountable)The portion of a population unable to read and write, generally given as a percentage.
3. (countable)A word, phrase, or grammatical turn thought to be characteristic of an illiterate person.
4. (broadly, uncountable)Unlearnedness; the state of being ignorant or unlettered.