The State's success in combating illiteracy is well-known and this feature has greatly contributed to the debate about the so-called "Kerala model" of which educational progress, low infant mortality and early fertility decline are the central ingredients. As a consequence, present-day literacy rates are now almost as high in rural areas when the urban-rural gap is sizeable anywhere else in India.

The advance of education originated in the Princely States right from the 19th century and this explains why the former territories of Travancore and Cochin (Kochi) still figure prominently on the map with some the highest literacy scores recorded in the county. More than 95% of the women are literate in some areas of the Kottayam district where Syrian Christians form the dominant group. Rates are very high in the north of the State as around Kozhikode city, but on the whole, the former region of Malabar that was directly administered by the British (as part of the then Madras Presidency) tend to lag behind. This is especially about Malappuram district where the lowest values are recorded.

Another interesting feature is the way the regional division into lowlands and highlands gets reflected on the map. Illiteracy tends to gradually increase with altitude, a geographical pattern that is related mainly to the composition of the population found in the mountainous areas (tribal groups, plantation workers, etc.). Kerala lowlands partake of a littoral region that stretches up to Goa and that possesses many typical features such high density, high literacy, low fertility and higher family size (many more characteristics can be observed on our atlas).

C.Z.G.