Adults in 27 countries: over 11 years reading worsened more often at 55–65 than at 16–24
Significantly worse in 12 countries for the older group and in 8 for the young. In 2023 the young still lead: 271 points against 241 on the OECD average.
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The same adult reading test ran in 2012 and in 2023, on random residents of each country rather than job applicants.
Each bar is the number of countries where an age group's mean score changed significantly between the two cycles; elsewhere the change is within the error.
- Ages 55–65: countries worse / better countries
12 / 4
- Ages 16–24: countries worse / better countries
8 / 3
- OECD average 2023: 16–24 / 55–65 points
270.7 / 241.2
OECD Survey of Adult Skills, 2023 report tables A.3.7 and A.2.4. Significant: a change larger than 1.96 standard errors including the 3.27-point linking error.
Comparing ages in one year does not separate age from generation. The 2023 test ran on tablets, 2012 on computer or paper; the OECD treats the scales as linked. Russia took part only in 2012, without Moscow.
A question for this picture
And how did the share of adults reading only simple texts change?