How many people in the US are functionally illiterate?

Functional illiteracy is defined as the inability to read and comprehend relatively short texts or understand basic vocabulary. Illiteracy affects 18% of US adults (approximately 57.4 million people), most commonly impacting black people, Hispanic people, and low-income individuals.

What is the illiteracy rate in the US 2023?

The current US literacy rate is 79%. New Hampshire has the highest literacy rate of 94.2%. California has the lowest literacy rate of only 76.9%. 68% of US 4th-graders are below the optimal reading level proficiency.

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.

What reading level is functionally illiterate?

Someone could be illiterate (not able to read or spell at the most basic level) or 'functionally illiterate' (reading at the 5th grade level or below). 21% of adults can be categorized as functionally illiterate.

What is the difference between functional illiterate and illiterate?

Functional illiteracy is different from illiteracy. Adults who are functionally illiterate have some reading and writing ability, whereas a person who is illiterate has never been taught how to read or write.

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

How common is functional illiteracy?

Functional illiteracy is defined as the inability to read and comprehend relatively short texts or understand basic vocabulary. Illiteracy affects 18% of US adults (approximately 57.4 million people), most commonly impacting black people, Hispanic people, and low-income individuals.

What percentage of US adults are functionally illiterate?

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), 21 percent of adults in the United States (about 43 million) fall into the illiterate/functionally illiterate category.

Why is US literacy rate so low?

The burden of poverty places significant constraints on individuals' educational opportunities. Limited access to books, educational resources, and enrichment activities can hinder literacy development, perpetuating the cycle of low literacy rates within families and communities.

What makes someone functionally illiterate?

Functional illiteracy means that a person cannot use reading, writing, and calculation skills for his/her own and the community's development. Functional illiteracy has considerable negative effects not only on personal development, but also in economic and social terms.

What state has the lowest reading level?

The states with the lowest literacy rates are New Mexico, California, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Nevada, New York, Alabama, Florida and Georgia.

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.

Which state has highest illiteracy rate?

Bihar is the least literate state in India, with a literacy of 63.82%.

What state has the highest illiteracy rate?

1. California

California's 23.1% of adults lacking basic prose literacy skills make California have the lowest literacy rate of 76.9%.

What percent of Americans can't read?

Though nationwide graduation rates have risen in recent decades, the number of adults who struggle to read remains stubbornly high: 48 million, or 23%. If there were local programs that could teach adults the reading skills they never got, those parents could help educate their kids and get better jobs, Eyster said.

What is Russia's literacy rate?

Literacy Rate in Russia Overview

The literacy rate reached 99.69% in 2021. Between 2010 to 2021, the literacy rate of Russia decreased by 0.02%. On a year-on-year basis, the literacy rate decreased slightly in 2021.

What percent of high school graduates are illiterate?

Top U.S. Literacy Rate Statistics

19% of high school graduates can't read. 43% of adults with low literacy live in poverty. 50% of adults with low literacy do not have a job. 85% of juvenile offenders have low literacy skills.

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.

What can an illiterate person also be called?

Some common synonyms of illiterate are ignorant, unlearned, unlettered, and untutored. While all these words mean "not having knowledge," illiterate applies to either an absolute or a relative inability to read and write.

Can you get disability for being illiterate?

Therefore, a claimant cannot draw disability on the basis of illiteracy, alone. However, claimants who have serious medical conditions, and are also illiterate, sometimes have a better chance of qualifying for benefits than those who can read.

What US city has the highest literacy rate?

For the fourth straight year, Washington, D.C. is the most literate city in the United States, according to a recent study on literacy.

Which 3 states have the lowest literacy rate?

Is there a literacy crisis in the US?

There is currently a literacy crisis happening in the U.S., one that disproportionately affects students of color, and that cannot be ignored. Literacy is one of the major civil rights issues of our time, and our children's future — and our nation's democracy — depends on us addressing it now.

What percentage of China is illiterate?

China's literacy rate has increased from 66 percent in 1982 to 97.2 percent in 2020. A distinctive gap between gender literacy existed as early as 1982, but gender differences in literacy had become less significant by 2020.

Which country has best literacy rate?

The top countries with the highest literacy rates are Finland, Norway, Luxembourg, Andorra, Greenland, Liechtenstein, Uzbekistan, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania. Finland, Norway, Luxembourg, Andorra, Greenland, Liechtenstein, and Uzbekistan have an impeccable score with a 100% literacy rate.

Which country has the highest number of illiterate adults?

Bangladesh is the top country by adult illiteracy in the world. As of 2019, adult illiteracy in Bangladesh was 30 million that accounts for 100.00% of the world's adult illiteracy.