Comment by iso1631

7 hours ago

Dunno what the OP meant, but in the UK

https://www.southtyneside.gov.uk/article/16247/Public-Health...

> Guidance tells us the average reading age in the North East is lower than the national average at between 9 to 11 years. To put that into context The Guardian Newspaper has a reading age of 14 and the Sun Newspaper has a reading age of 8.

Health literacy specifically is a major problem in healthcare

https://literacytrust.org.uk/parents-and-families/adult-lite...

> 1 in 4 (26.7% / 931,000 people) adults in Scotland experience challenges due to their lack of literacy skills.

I find that page somewhat ironic as they claim 18% is one in six, but 17.4% is one in five. Seems numeracy is as big a challenge.

The US is no better according to wikipedia

> In 2023, 28% of adults scored at or below Level 1, 29% at Level 2, and 44% at Level 3 or above

> Adults scoring below Level 1 can comprehend simple sentences and short paragraphs with minimal structure but will struggle with multi-step instructions or complex sentences

> Adults scoring at Level 3 or above are considered "proficient at working with information and ideas in texts