World Read Aloud Day for the year 2024 is celebrated/observed on Wednesday, February 1st. There are until the next observance.

World Read Aloud Day is observed on the first Wednesday of February and this year falls on February 1. This is a day dedicated to the art and practice of reading aloud, not just reading. Even before writing, stories were passed down from generation to generation. Oral storytelling was the first method of preserving human knowledge, intelligence, and creativity. This day enables us to reintroduce this culture of reading while also boosting literacy.

📆 When is World Read Aloud Day?

This year, World Read Aloud Day is on February 1st. It is the 1st Wednesday in February; in 2024, it is on Thursday.

Countdown to World Read Aloud Day

Did you know: World Read Aloud Day is currently celebrated by 173 nations.

You can also learn all exciting things you didn’t know about and facts about February 1, 2023.

📜 History of World Read Aloud Day

They established the inaugural World Read Aloud Day in 2010 to encourage varied voices and narratives throughout the world. It’s now a really global movement, with a track record of trending on Twitter and several celebrity endorsements. The day celebrates “the joy and power of reading and sharing stories,” as well as “expanding the definition and scope of global literacy,” according to their website. The good news is that the globe today is more literate than ever. The rate of youth literacy for people aged 15 to 24 grew from 87,286 in 2010 to 90,537 in 2019. Adult literacy rates throughout the world are on an upward trend.

However, there are still major literacy disparities throughout the world, with Chad recording a female teenage reading rate of only 22% in 2016. As recently as 2018, a few additional Sub-Saharan African nations, including Niger, Mali, and the Central African Republic, scored below 50%. One program aimed at addressing these discrepancies is World Read Aloud Day.

☑️ World Read Aloud Day facts

Inequality in literacy rates
Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest literacy rates in the world, with South Asia coming in second.

Literacy levels keep rising
UNESCO says that since 1950, the number of people who can read and write has grown by 5% every 10 years.

Children’s books were religious
“Spiritual Milk for Boston Babes” was a catechism authored by clergyman John Cotton and published as the first children’s book in the United States in 1656.

Things to do on World Read Aloud Day

Read aloud
This is an excellent time to select your child’s favorite book and take turns reading it. Adding character to the story’s protagonists through speech makes the experience more enjoyable. If you already do that and want to try something new, you may just recount stories from your parents and grandparents.

Tweet the hashtag
In February 2020, #WorldReadAloudDay was a top trending hashtag on Twitter. Aside from the children, families, and schools who take part in the day throughout the world, celebrities such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Chelsea Clinton have used the hashtag to promote literacy. This is an excellent moment to get involved and raise awareness about this vital issue.

Listen to an audiobook
If you enjoy reading but never have the time, listening to an audiobook is a terrific substitute. If you’re excited about the tale, it can even inspire you to tell it to someone else. Giving an audiobook or membership to a kid or friend is another way to instill a love of reading in them.

📅 World Read Aloud Day Observances

YEAR DATE DAY
2024 February 1 Thursday
2025 February 1 Saturday
2026 February 1 Sunday
2027 February 1 Monday
2028 February 1 Tuesday

View all February holidays, including Special Interest and other Awareness holidays.

We will continue to update this page with new information and cool facts about World Read Aloud Day. So be sure to check back soon.