In all countries, and especially in southern States, several hundreds of million people are excluded from the development process because, among other reasons, they never had the opportunity to learn to read and write. Illiteracy impedes individuals from effectively responding to development imperatives. Illiteracy therefore continues to marginalize a large segment of the world's population, robbing it of the fundamental right to improved well-being, respect, and dignity. Illiterates are clearly most vulnerable to poverty, consume relatively less food and healthcare resources, participate less in development projects, benefit less from the latter, and suffer many other injustices. Burundi is among the world's poorest countries. According to data from the 1990 general population census, the overall literacy rate of 34% masked significant rate differences by sex; 49% of men and 28% of women were literate in 1990. In this study of adult literacy and sustainable development in Burundi, the national context is first reviewed with regard to the following topics: administrative structure, population, internal communications, the economy, healthcare, education, and migration. Subsequent chapters describe the analytical framework, Burundi's experience with literacy, and suggestions for a global intervention strategy.