On average, the literacy and numeracy skills of the adult population in Ireland aged 16-65 years have remained stable in the 12 years since the first iteration of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) survey in 2012.
Irish-resident adults aged 16-65 years achieved close to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average in literacy, numeracy, and adaptive problem solving proficiency in the latest round of the OECD’s Survey of Adult Skills 2023.
The percentage of Irish-resident adults who scored the lowest level of proficiency in literacy was 5% in 2023, and in numeracy this was 7%. These figures were below the OECD averages of 9% for each.
Adults aged 16-65 years in Ireland achieved an average literacy proficiency of 263 points compared with the OECD average of 260 points (on a scale of 0-500).
In numeracy, adults aged 16-65 years achieved an average proficiency of 260 points, slightly below the OECD average of 263 points.
Adults in Finland achieved the highest scores in literacy (296 points), numeracy (294 points), and adaptive problem solving (276 points). The score for adaptive problem solving was the same achieved by adults in Japan.
In Ireland, persons aged 16-24 years had the highest literacy mean score (278) while adults aged 55-65 years had the lowest literacy mean score (245).
A strong relationship exists between educational attainment and numeracy skills in Ireland. Adults aged 25-65 years with a third level qualification tend to outperform those with lower levels of education in numeracy proficiency.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (10 December 2024) released the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) 2023.
Commenting on the release Kevin Healy, Statistician in the Social Analysis Division, said: “This release was compiled using data collected from Irish households between September 2022 and June 2023. Across the 31 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries that participated in PIAAC 2023, the average score achieved by adults aged 16-65 years was 260 points in literacy, 263 points in numeracy, and 251 points in adaptive problem solving, on scales ranging from 0 to 500 points.
Overall Results
In Ireland, adults aged 16-65 years achieved above the OECD average in literacy (263) and slightly below in numeracy (260) and adaptive problem solving (249). Adults in Finland achieved the highest scores in literacy (296 points), numeracy (294 points), and adaptive problem solving (276).
There are some variations in the distribution of literacy and numeracy scores when analysed by age and education. For example, adults aged 16-24 years had the highest literacy mean score (278) while those aged 55-65 years had the lowest (245). Adults aged 16-65 years in Ireland and who were in employment had the highest mean score for literacy (268) which was significantly higher than those not in the labour force (246).
The average scores for literacy and numeracy proficiency are practically unchanged for Irish adults compared with the first cycle of PIAAC conducted in 2012. Similarly, the proportions of adults whose skills are considered to be at or below Level 1, for literacy (21%) and numeracy (25%), are not statistically different from those recorded in 2012. At the other end of the proficiency scales the share of high-performing adults, scoring at Level 4 or 5 is the same for literacy as in 2012, but has increased for numeracy from 8% to 10%."