Youth unemployment rates in the Arab region are the highest in the world, according a report from the U.N. International Labor Organization (ILO) released on Tuesday. "As a region, youth unemployment is the highest globally at 23.2 percent, compared to a world average of 13.9 percent, and varies significantly within sub-regions," said the report entitled "Rethinking Economic Growth: Towards Productive and Inclusive Arab Societies." The report says that the Arab region has achieved universal or near-universal primary education enrolment since the 1970s and that the youth literacy rate is now 92 percent in North Africa and 99 per cent in the Middle East and the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council).