Key findings

• Literacy: Over the past decade, average literacy proficiency has remained stable or declined in most participating countries and economies, with only Finland (15 points) and Denmark (9 points) exhibiting significant improvements.
• Numeracy: Eight countries have seen average numeracy scores improve, with the largest gains recorded in Finland and Singapore (both 17 points). Average scores remained stable in 12 countries and declined in 7, most significantly in Lithuania and Poland.
• Finland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden are the best-performing countries in all three domains.
• On average, across participating OECD countries, nearly one-fifth of adults are considered low performers, scoring at or below Level 1 in all three domains.
  • This share ranges from 7% in Japan to 44% in Chile. 
  • Some 14 countries recorded an increase in the share of low-performing adults in literacy, and no country saw a reduction. 
  • The share of low performers in numeracy increased in 9 countries and decreased only in Canada, Finland and Singapore.
• Declines in average proficiency are largely due to falls among the lowest-performing adults. 
  • In most countries and economies, the literacy proficiency of the lowest-performing 10% of the population has declined, with many experiencing similar declines in numeracy. 
  • The evolution of proficiency of the top-performing 10% of the population has evolved more favorably, leading to widening skills inequalities within countries. 
  • In 2023, Singapore and the United States displayed the largest skills inequalities in literacy and numeracy.

Proficiency and educational attainment

• Higher levels of educational attainment are associated with higher average proficiency in literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem solving.
• Tertiary-educated adults scored 33 points higher in literacy, on average, than those with upper secondary attainment, who in turn scored, on average, 43 points higher than adults who did not complete upper secondary education.
• However, higher levels of education do not always equate to better skills and knowledge. For instance, Finnish high school graduates consistently outperform tertiary-educated adults in several countries, including Chile, Israel, and Lithuania.

Proficiency and age

• In most countries and economies, the highest average proficiency is observed among either 25-34 year-olds or 16-24 year-olds.
• The literacy proficiency of young adults aged 16-24 has increased only in Norway, Finland, and England (United Kingdom) over the past decade, and has declined in eight countries.

Proficiency and gender

• As literacy proficiency has declined more strongly among men than women, gender gaps have narrowed in many countries and women now display higher literacy skills than men, on average.
• On the other hand, men continue to outperform women in numeracy (by 10 points), as well as in adaptive problem solving (by only 2 points).

Proficiency and immigration background

• In literacy, foreign-born adults scored 44 points below native-born adults, on average.
• Over the past decade, literacy proficiency among foreign-born adults has improved only in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, and has declined in 11 countries.

Proficiency and parental education

• The average difference in skills proficiency between adults with low- and highly educated parents amounted to 50 points in literacy, 49 points in numeracy, and 42 points in adaptive problem solving. 
• These differences are particularly pronounced in Germany. 
• Since the previous assessment, the literacy skills gap between adults with low- and highly educated parents has widened in half of the countries.

Skills proficiency and labor market and social outcomes

• Skills are key drivers of employability and wages, over and above formal education. 
  • A one standard deviation increase in numeracy (58 points on the numeracy scale) is associated with a 1 percentage point greater likelihood of employment and 9% higher wages. This compares to 16% higher wages for three additional years of education (also equivalent to one standard deviation).
  • While numeracy has the strongest association with employment and wages, similar relationships exist for literacy and adaptive problem solving.
• Skills are closely related to both individual well-being (e.g. self-reported health and life satisfaction) and civic engagement (e.g. political efficacy, trust and volunteering). 
  • The strength of this relationship varies across countries and economies. 
  • Many low-skilled adults feel disconnected from political processes and lack the skills to engage with complex digital information, which is a growing concern for modern democracies.

• About one-third of workers in OECD countries are mismatched for their jobs, whether in terms of their qualifications, skills, or fields of study. For example, adults who work in jobs that do not require their level of education receive 12% lower wages compared to peers who are in well-matched jobs. They are also four percentage points less likely to report high life satisfaction. 

   

Other aspects 

• Health: Individuals with high numeracy skills are 11 percentage points more likely to report very good or excellent health compared to those with low numeracy skills.
• Internet usage: The share of adults using the internet rose from 76% in 2012 to 93% in 2023.