Adult literacy rate in Iraq is 79.7%. Male literacy is 85.7%. Female literacy is 73.7%. Therefore, male literacy and female literacy differ by 12%. Government expenditure on education is 4.1% of GDP. The education index of Iraq is 0.467 - formal education levels are low and are mostly limited to primary and secondary school levels at best; higher education is possible, but not very widespread. People in Iraq speak the Arabic, and Kurdish languages.