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| 2017 Tables and Figures | All Years of Tables and Figures | Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest |
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| Table 604.10. | Average literacy and numeracy scale scores of 25- to 65-year-olds, by sex, age group, highest level of educational attainment, and country or other education system: 2012 |
| [Standard errors appear in parentheses] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country or other education system1 | Total population of 25- to 65-year-olds | Sex | Age group | Highest level of educational attainment2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Male | Female | 25 to 34 | 35 to 44 | 45 to 54 | 55 to 65 | Less than high school completion | High school completion | Associate's degree | Bachelor's or higher degree | |||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |||||||||||
| Literacy scale score3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| OECD average4 | 271 | (0.2) | 273 | (0.3) | 270 | (0.2) | 284 | (0.4) | 279 | (0.3) | 268 | (0.3) | 255 | (0.3) | 235 | (0.5) | 268 | (0.3) | 286 | (0.5) | 302 | (0.3) |
| Austria | 268 | (0.8) | 270 | (1.1) | 266 | (1.0) | 280 | (1.5) | 275 | (1.7) | 266 | (1.4) | 250 | (1.6) | 239 | (2.1) | 268 | (0.9) | 282 | (2.2) | 305 | (1.7) |
| Canada | 273 | (0.6) | 274 | (0.9) | 271 | (0.9) | 285 | (1.3) | 279 | (1.4) | 268 | (1.3) | 260 | (1.1) | 219 | (2.1) | 265 | (1.1) | 278 | (1.2) | 300 | (1.0) |
| Czech Republic | 273 | (1.0) | 274 | (1.3) | 271 | (1.5) | 287 | (1.8) | 275 | (2.0) | 266 | (1.7) | 262 | (2.0) | 242 | (3.4) | 269 | (1.0) | 293 | (4.6) | 303 | (2.5) |
| Denmark | 270 | (0.7) | 270 | (1.1) | 269 | (0.9) | 282 | (1.7) | 281 | (1.6) | 266 | (1.4) | 252 | (1.1) | 234 | (2.1) | 264 | (1.2) | 286 | (1.3) | 298 | (1.5) |
| England (UK) | 274 | (1.1) | 275 | (1.4) | 273 | (1.4) | 280 | (2.1) | 279 | (1.6) | 271 | (1.8) | 265 | (2.0) | 241 | (1.6) | 273 | (1.5) | 283 | (2.4) | 302 | (1.9) |
| Estonia | 273 | (0.8) | 273 | (1.2) | 274 | (0.9) | 286 | (1.7) | 278 | (1.2) | 269 | (1.4) | 261 | (1.5) | 244 | (2.0) | 267 | (1.0) | 276 | (1.5) | 298 | (1.4) |
| Finland | 286 | (0.8) | 284 | (1.4) | 287 | (1.2) | 309 | (1.7) | 299 | (2.1) | 284 | (1.8) | 260 | (1.4) | 245 | (2.8) | 276 | (1.4) | 294 | (1.5) | 318 | (1.6) |
| Flanders (Belgium) | 274 | (0.9) | 277 | (1.1) | 270 | (1.1) | 291 | (1.8) | 282 | (1.6) | 272 | (1.6) | 255 | (1.6) | 232 | (2.0) | 265 | (1.2) | 294 | (1.6) | 313 | (1.7) |
| France | 259 | (0.6) | 260 | (0.9) | 259 | (0.8) | 278 | (1.4) | 267 | (1.3) | 254 | (1.2) | 242 | (1.3) | 224 | (1.3) | 258 | (0.9) | 287 | (1.4) | 297 | (1.2) |
| Germany | 268 | (1.0) | 271 | (1.2) | 265 | (1.3) | 281 | (1.8) | 275 | (1.6) | 264 | (1.7) | 254 | (1.7) | 220 | (3.0) | 262 | (1.1) | 280 | (2.3) | 301 | (1.6) |
| Ireland | 266 | (1.0) | 267 | (1.3) | 264 | (1.2) | 276 | (1.5) | 271 | (1.8) | 259 | (2.1) | 251 | (1.8) | 232 | (1.8) | 266 | (1.5) | 279 | (1.9) | 301 | (1.7) |
| Italy | 249 | (1.1) | 249 | (1.6) | 248 | (1.4) | 260 | (2.2) | 253 | (1.9) | 249 | (1.8) | 233 | (2.2) | 231 | (1.6) | 263 | (1.3) | ‡ | (†) | 282 | (1.6) |
| Japan | 296 | (0.7) | 297 | (1.0) | 294 | (1.0) | 309 | (1.7) | 307 | (1.0) | 297 | (1.5) | 273 | (1.6) | 260 | (2.6) | 287 | (1.0) | 304 | (1.4) | 320 | (1.1) |
| Korea, Republic of | 269 | (0.6) | 273 | (0.9) | 264 | (0.9) | 290 | (1.2) | 278 | (1.2) | 259 | (1.4) | 244 | (1.4) | 230 | (1.7) | 265 | (1.0) | 282 | (1.4) | 297 | (1.3) |
| Netherlands | 282 | (0.8) | 286 | (1.2) | 278 | (1.0) | 298 | (2.0) | 294 | (1.8) | 277 | (1.7) | 261 | (1.6) | 246 | (1.7) | 283 | (1.3) | 293 | (3.4) | 312 | (1.3) |
| Northern Ireland (UK) | 268 | (2.1) | 271 | (2.7) | 265 | (2.0) | 278 | (2.9) | 274 | (2.3) | 262 | (2.6) | 255 | (3.2) | 239 | (2.6) | 270 | (2.6) | 280 | (3.3) | 303 | (2.9) |
| Norway | 279 | (0.7) | 281 | (1.1) | 277 | (1.1) | 289 | (1.8) | 288 | (1.6) | 277 | (1.5) | 262 | (1.5) | 251 | (1.8) | 271 | (1.4) | 288 | (3.1) | 303 | (1.1) |
| Poland | 264 | (0.7) | 260 | (1.1) | 267 | (1.0) | 277 | (1.5) | 268 | (1.9) | 259 | (1.7) | 249 | (1.7) | 227 | (2.6) | 254 | (1.0) | — | (†) | 297 | (1.3) |
| Slovak Republic | 273 | (0.7) | 273 | (1.0) | 274 | (0.9) | 278 | (1.4) | 278 | (1.4) | 270 | (1.3) | 266 | (1.3) | 238 | (1.9) | 275 | (0.9) | — | (†) | 295 | (1.4) |
| Spain | 250 | (0.8) | 253 | (1.1) | 248 | (1.2) | 263 | (1.5) | 260 | (1.3) | 248 | (1.5) | 227 | (1.9) | 225 | (1.3) | 258 | (1.4) | 266 | (2.1) | 288 | (1.3) |
| Sweden | 278 | (0.8) | 280 | (1.2) | 276 | (1.2) | 290 | (1.9) | 287 | (1.8) | 276 | (1.7) | 262 | (1.3) | 238 | (2.2) | 277 | (1.2) | 294 | (2.4) | 309 | (1.4) |
| United States | 269 | (1.1) | 270 | (1.3) | 269 | (1.4) | 275 | (2.0) | 273 | (1.8) | 266 | (1.7) | 263 | (1.5) | 211 | (2.7) | 259 | (1.4) | 282 | (2.8) | 302 | (1.7) |
| Non-OECD education systems | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cyprus5 | 269 | (0.9) | 269 | (1.3) | 270 | (1.1) | 275 | (1.7) | 270 | (1.5) | 270 | (1.7) | 261 | (1.6) | 248 | (1.9) | 266 | (1.2) | 273 | (2.0) | 290 | (1.5) |
| Russian Federation6 | 275 | (3.0) | 274 | (3.3) | 277 | (3.1) | 273 | (4.1) | 278 | (3.9) | 277 | (3.7) | 275 | (3.9) | 248 | (7.5) | 272 | (4.2) | 276 | (2.8) | 282 | (3.1) |
| Numeracy scale score3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| OECD average4 | 268 | (0.2) | 275 | (0.3) | 262 | (0.3) | 279 | (0.4) | 275 | (0.4) | 266 | (0.4) | 253 | (0.4) | 227 | (0.5) | 265 | (0.3) | 283 | (0.9) | 303 | (0.4) |
| Austria | 274 | (0.9) | 281 | (1.3) | 267 | (1.1) | 282 | (1.7) | 281 | (2.0) | 274 | (1.7) | 257 | (1.7) | 237 | (2.3) | 276 | (1.1) | 292 | (2.6) | 315 | (1.8) |
| Canada | 265 | (0.8) | 273 | (1.0) | 257 | (1.0) | 276 | (1.4) | 272 | (1.5) | 260 | (1.4) | 251 | (1.4) | 206 | (2.5) | 255 | (1.2) | 271 | (1.5) | 295 | (1.0) |
| Czech Republic | 275 | (1.0) | 280 | (1.5) | 270 | (1.4) | 288 | (1.8) | 277 | (1.8) | 272 | (2.2) | 263 | (2.0) | 235 | (3.3) | 271 | (1.0) | 287 | (6.1) | 313 | (2.5) |
| Denmark | 279 | (0.8) | 285 | (1.4) | 273 | (1.0) | 287 | (1.9) | 290 | (1.6) | 277 | (1.6) | 265 | (1.2) | 241 | (2.4) | 275 | (1.3) | 295 | (1.4) | 309 | (1.8) |
| England (UK) | 263 | (1.1) | 270 | (1.4) | 256 | (1.6) | 267 | (2.2) | 269 | (1.9) | 259 | (1.9) | 257 | (1.9) | 226 | (1.9) | 262 | (1.5) | 271 | (3.0) | 295 | (2.2) |
| Estonia | 272 | (0.6) | 276 | (1.0) | 269 | (0.9) | 284 | (1.7) | 275 | (1.1) | 269 | (1.4) | 259 | (1.3) | 236 | (1.8) | 265 | (0.9) | 275 | (1.4) | 300 | (1.3) |
| Finland | 282 | (0.8) | 286 | (1.3) | 277 | (1.2) | 302 | (2.1) | 292 | (2.2) | 279 | (2.0) | 260 | (1.3) | 244 | (2.8) | 271 | (1.3) | 291 | (1.6) | 314 | (1.7) |
| Flanders (Belgium) | 280 | (0.9) | 289 | (1.2) | 271 | (1.3) | 295 | (1.9) | 289 | (1.8) | 280 | (1.9) | 260 | (1.6) | 235 | (1.9) | 272 | (1.2) | 300 | (1.5) | 323 | (1.8) |
| France | 252 | (0.7) | 258 | (1.0) | 247 | (1.0) | 269 | (1.5) | 262 | (1.6) | 246 | (1.4) | 234 | (1.5) | 208 | (1.3) | 251 | (1.0) | 287 | (1.7) | 299 | (1.4) |
| Germany | 271 | (1.1) | 280 | (1.4) | 262 | (1.4) | 282 | (1.8) | 279 | (2.0) | 268 | (1.9) | 256 | (1.9) | 210 | (3.4) | 264 | (1.2) | 287 | (2.5) | 310 | (1.7) |
| Ireland | 255 | (1.0) | 261 | (1.4) | 249 | (1.3) | 266 | (1.7) | 260 | (1.7) | 250 | (2.1) | 238 | (2.3) | 218 | (2.2) | 254 | (1.6) | 274 | (2.1) | 294 | (1.9) |
| Italy | 246 | (1.1) | 253 | (1.6) | 240 | (1.4) | 262 | (2.3) | 251 | (1.9) | 244 | (2.0) | 229 | (2.2) | 225 | (1.5) | 265 | (1.5) | ‡ | (†) | 280 | (2.1) |
| Japan | 289 | (0.8) | 296 | (1.2) | 282 | (1.1) | 297 | (1.6) | 297 | (1.3) | 291 | (1.7) | 273 | (1.6) | 247 | (2.5) | 281 | (1.3) | 291 | (1.3) | 319 | (1.2) |
| Korea, Republic of | 260 | (0.7) | 266 | (1.0) | 254 | (1.1) | 281 | (1.4) | 271 | (1.5) | 251 | (1.4) | 232 | (1.7) | 215 | (1.9) | 256 | (1.0) | 275 | (1.6) | 293 | (1.5) |
| Netherlands | 279 | (0.8) | 288 | (1.3) | 270 | (1.1) | 293 | (1.8) | 287 | (2.1) | 277 | (1.7) | 262 | (1.7) | 243 | (1.9) | 281 | (1.2) | 292 | (3.5) | 310 | (1.3) |
| Northern Ireland (UK) | 258 | (1.8) | 265 | (2.2) | 251 | (2.0) | 268 | (2.9) | 266 | (2.4) | 252 | (2.1) | 245 | (3.1) | 225 | (2.9) | 261 | (2.1) | 273 | (3.0) | 298 | (2.4) |
| Norway | 280 | (0.9) | 288 | (1.3) | 272 | (1.2) | 285 | (2.0) | 289 | (1.9) | 280 | (1.7) | 265 | (1.7) | 246 | (2.2) | 273 | (1.5) | 296 | (3.7) | 306 | (1.3) |
| Poland | 258 | (1.0) | 259 | (1.5) | 257 | (1.0) | 270 | (1.5) | 262 | (2.2) | 254 | (2.1) | 244 | (1.9) | 216 | (3.1) | 250 | (1.2) | — | (†) | 290 | (1.5) |
| Slovak Republic | 275 | (0.9) | 277 | (1.2) | 274 | (1.1) | 279 | (1.6) | 281 | (1.7) | 275 | (1.6) | 265 | (1.6) | 226 | (2.4) | 278 | (1.0) | — | (†) | 306 | (1.5) |
| Spain | 245 | (0.7) | 251 | (1.1) | 238 | (1.1) | 257 | (1.3) | 255 | (1.3) | 242 | (1.6) | 221 | (1.7) | 217 | (1.3) | 254 | (1.5) | 264 | (2.4) | 283 | (1.3) |
| Sweden | 279 | (1.0) | 286 | (1.5) | 272 | (1.2) | 288 | (2.0) | 286 | (2.0) | 276 | (2.3) | 268 | (1.7) | 237 | (2.6) | 277 | (1.4) | 297 | (2.6) | 311 | (1.5) |
| United States | 254 | (1.2) | 262 | (1.3) | 246 | (1.5) | 260 | (2.2) | 258 | (1.9) | 250 | (2.1) | 247 | (1.8) | 185 | (3.1) | 241 | (1.5) | 266 | (3.1) | 293 | (1.7) |
| Non-OECD education systems | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cyprus5 | 265 | (0.9) | 270 | (1.2) | 260 | (1.3) | 273 | (2.0) | 269 | (1.6) | 265 | (1.8) | 250 | (1.8) | 230 | (2.3) | 264 | (1.4) | 270 | (2.1) | 292 | (1.6) |
| Russian Federation6 | 269 | (2.8) | 268 | (3.3) | 271 | (3.0) | 269 | (4.2) | 270 | (3.6) | 272 | (3.2) | 267 | (3.9) | 234 | (8.5) | 265 | (4.0) | 268 | (2.6) | 280 | (3.0) |
| —Not available. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| †Not applicable. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ‡Reporting standards not met (too few cases). | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 Most of the education systems represent complete countries, but three of them represent subnational entities: England (which is part of the United Kingdom), Flanders (which is part of Belgium), and Northern Ireland (which is part of the United Kingdom). | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 High school completion includes International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 1997 levels 3 and 4, with the exception of ISCED level 3C short programs. ISCED 3C short programs do not correspond to high school completion in the United States and are included in the "less than high school completion" column in this table. The associate's degree data in this table refer to degrees classified as ISCED 1997 level 5B. The data for bachelor’s or higher degree refer to degrees classified as ISCED 1997 level 5A and as level 6. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 Scale scores range from 0 to 500. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 Refers to the mean of the data values for all reporting Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries and subnational education systems, to which each country or subnational education system reporting data contributes equally, with the exception of England (UK) and Northern Ireland (UK), which contribute to the mean as a combined entity, England/Northern Ireland (UK). | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 Cyprus includes only the population under the effective control of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus. For the educational attainment data (columns 9 through 12), the item response rate for Cyprus is below 85 percent; missing data have not been explicitly accounted for. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 The Russian Federation does not include the population of the Moscow municipal region. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), 2012. (This table was prepared May 2016.) |
