How many people are affected by illiteracy?

Illiteracy affects 18% of US adults (approximately 57.4 million people), most commonly impacting black people, Hispanic people, and low-income individuals.

How many percent of people are illiterate?

The global literacy rate for all people aged 15 and above is 86.3%. The global literacy rate for all males is 90.0%, and the rate for all females is 82.7%.

What is the illiteracy rate in the US 2023?

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 79% of American adults have medium to high English literacy skills. This means that 21%, or about 43 million adults, have low literacy skills, bordering on illiteracy.

Do 54% of adults have a literacy below 6th grade level?

130 million Americans—54% of adults between the ages of 16 and 74 years old—lack proficiency in literacy, essentially reading below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level. Often, counties with the lowest literacy rates are the same areas that experience poor health, poverty, and low economic mobility.

How many people in the world are functionally illiterate?

According to the International Literacy Association, there are 781 million people in the world who are either illiterate (cannot read a single word) or functionally illiterate (with a basic or below basic ability to read). Some 126 million of them are young people.

Why 36 million American adults can't read enough to work — and how to help them

What percent of the world is illiterate 2023?

Worldwide, around 773 million youth (aged 15 to 24) and adults cannot read or write – 24% of those reside in Sub-Saharan Africa. As of 2020, the global literacy rate for all people aged 15 and above is 86.3%. Approximately 11.82% of the world population is illiterate, based on data from World Bank.

What is the impact of illiteracy?

Increased crime rates

Limited Employment Opportunities: Illiteracy restricts job opportunities and often leads to lower-income employment or unemployment. Individuals facing limited options for legitimate employment may turn to illegal activities as a means of survival or to meet their financial needs.

What percent of 8th graders are illiterate?

According to the U.S. Government's own statistics, the U.S. Government's Annual Report card, 22% of ALL 8th grade students are COMPLETELY illiterate and another 42% are considered "functionally illiterate." Together that adds up to 64% of America's public school students who will either drop out or graduate without ...

Why is US literacy so low?

Hispanics, older people, and incarcerated people are more likely to be low literate than other US adults. Major factors influencing literacy development include education, socioeconomic status, learning English as a second language, learning disabilities, and crime.

How many high school graduates are functionally illiterate?

According to a recent study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, 32 million of American adults are illiterate, 21 percent read below a 5th grade level, and 19 percent of high school graduates are functionally illiterate, which means they can't read well enough to manage daily living and perform tasks required ...

What state is number 1 for illiteracy?

California has the lowest literacy rate in the country, with 23% of them having little to no proficiency in reading skills.

How bad is illiteracy in America?

Nationally, over 20% of adult Americans have a literacy proficiency at or below Level 1. Adults in this range have difficulty using or understanding print materials.

How many students can t read?

Even were that to be the case, the below Basic Level figures still yield the disturbing information that approximately four out of ten fourth-grade students lack the ability to read. Biennial testing through NAEP consistently shows that two thirds of U.S. children are unable to read with proficiency.

What percent of kids are illiterate?

Approximately 40% of students across the nation cannot read at a basic level.

Which is the largest population of illiterate?

1. India is home to the largest population of 287 million illiterate adults in the world. This amounts to 37% of the global total.

Are literacy rates declining?

According to McKinsey & Company, U.S. students lost the equivalent of nearly half a school year in reading instruction due to the pandemic. In 2022, reading scores dropped to levels that we haven't seen since 2005.

How many US adults can't read?

by EMILY SCHMIDT | March 16, 2022

About 130 million adults in the U.S. have low literacy skills according to a Gallup analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Education. This means more than half of Americans between the ages of 16 and 74 (54%) read below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level.

Is America becoming less literate?

Along with declining literacy rates, interest in reading books is also waning. About a fourth of Americans have not read a book in the past year according to Pew Research. The desire to read sophisticated texts has diminished as well.

What is the US ranked in literacy?

And while you might think that the United States is at the forefront of literacy and education, it ranks 125th for literacy rate among all countries. [ii] The reasons for that are quite complex. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is comprised of 35 countries, most of which are from Europe.

Is it OK to fail 8th grade?

Even students who fail every eighth grade course are summarily elevated to high school. Once enrolled, you must pass the required classes, and earn enough credits to graduate. Best wishes for every success.

Is repeating 8th grade bad?

Repeating 8th grade is not an indicator that a student isn't on pace with their peers. In fact, it is quite the opposite, and it's a common solution for many students when transitioning to U.S. schools or to the boarding school environment.

Why is illiteracy so high in the US?

Poverty plays a large role in whether children develop literacy skills during their early years. Some 22% of children in the U.S. live in poverty, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Some 43% of adults living in poverty have low literacy levels.

Why so many American kids are struggling to read?

In short, children raised in poverty, those with limited proficiency in English, those from homes where the parents' reading levels and practices are low, and those with speech, language, and hearing handicaps are at increased risk of reading failure.

Is illiteracy a bad thing?

There is a strong correlation between illiteracy and poverty, poor health, and crime in almost every society in the world. Among nations, countries with higher literacy invariably have higher per capita income.

How many children in the world Cannot read?

How many children cannot read? Although it's impossible to know exactly how many children around the world cannot read or write, UNESCO reports that 250 million children lack basic literacy skills.