definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.) total population: 99.8% male: 99.9% female: 99.8% (2015 est.) School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) total: 14 years male: 14 years female: 15 years (2020) Unemployment, youth ages 15–24 total: 6.1%. Country comparison to the world: 150th male: 6.4% female: 5.6% (2010 est.) Languages Spanish (official) Language Spanish is the official language of Cuba. Of all the regional variations of Spanish, Cuban Spanish is most similar to, and originates largely from, the dialect spoken in the Canary Islands. This is a consequence of Canarian migration, which in the 19th and early 20th century was heavy and continuous. There were also migrations of Galicians and Asturians as well, but they did not impact Cuban Spanish to the same degree. Much of the typical Cuban replacements for standard Spanish vocabulary stems from Canarian lexicon. For example, (bus) differs from standard Spanish the former originated in the Canaries and is an onomatopoeia stemming from the sound of a Klaxon horn (wah-wah!). An example of Canarian usage for a Spanish word is the verb ("to fight"). In standard Spanish the verb would be , while fajar exists as a non-reflexive verb related to the hemming of a skirt. The second most spoken language of Cuba is Haitian Creole, used mainly by Haitian immigrants and its descendants going back since the late 18th century, of whom fled the Haitian Revolution. Other languages of Cuba are Cuban Sign Language, and English is commonly studied as a foreign language. There are also reports of Lucumi, "Lengua Conga" (Kongo-based liturgical language of the Palo religion) and Bozal Spanish (an "African" socio-dialect of Spanish; now used only in folk religion). Historically, the Ciboney and Classic dialects of Taino and the unattested Guanahatabey were spoken. Religion Cuba has a multitude of faiths reflecting the island's diverse cultural elements. Catholicism, which was brought to the island by Spanish colonialists at the beginning of the 16th century, is the most prevalent professed faith. After the revolution, Cuba became an officially atheistic state and restricted religious practice. Since the Fourth Cuban Communist Party Congress in 1991, restrictions have been eased and, according to the National Catholic Observer, direct challenges by state institutions to the right to religion have all but disappeared, though the church still faces restrictions of written and electronic communication, and can only accept donations from state-approved funding sources.