Canadian Literacy Facts and Figures:
Courtesy of the World Literacy of Canada Organisation www.wordlit.ca
In Canada:
- 48% of people over the age of 16 have low literacy. This amounts to approximately 12 million Canadians.
- 42% of working-age Canadians (16-65 years) – about 9 million – have low literacy.
- Five provinces and territories – Newfoundland & Labrador, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec and Nunavut – have more people with low literacy, as compared to the national average.
- Though literacy scores in Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon are higher than the national average, 4 out of 10 people in these jurisdictions still fall in the low-literacy range.
- Over one third of youth (16-25 years) struggle with low literacy.
- 60% of immigrants have low literacy, compared to only 37% of native-born Canadians, despite the fact that immigrants, on average, have much higher levels of education than their native-born peers.
Source: International Adult Literacy Skills Survey (IALSS)
(Statistics Canada, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, US National Centre for Education Statistics, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2005)
WORLD LITERACY-FACTS & FIGURES