Nearly 29% of adults in Austria aged 16 to 65 struggle with basic reading skills, almost double the figure from 2012, according to a new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The findings, published in the latest Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), show that Austria’s reading performance has fallen below the OECD average. Austria scored 254 points, compared to the average of 260. Around 29% of adults in Austria could only manage the simplest reading tasks, compared to 26% across the OECD. When excluding those unable to take the test due to language barriers, the share of adults with low reading skills rose from 16% in 2012 to 27% in 2023.
Austria also lags in producing top readers, with only 10% reaching the highest competency levels, compared to the OECD average of 12%. Andreas Schleicher, the OECD’s Director of Education, described the situation as “a clear drop in performance among those with lower education levels.”
Functional Illiteracy on the Rise
Adults who only achieve Level 1 in reading are considered functionally illiterate, struggling with tasks that should be manageable for a primary school child, Schleicher explained. He criticised Austria’s education system, highlighting that the performance of those without secondary school qualifications has “fallen significantly.”
Even tertiary qualifications, he added, hold less value today, with Austrian university graduates scoring lower on average than Finnish secondary school leavers.
Migration’s Role Limited
While Austria has seen an increase in residents with a migration background since 2012, the report suggests this is only partly to blame for the drop in literacy levels. Second-generation migrants scored almost the same as those without migration backgrounds (265 points compared to 267).
Schleicher estimated that migration-related factors contributed just four to five points to the overall decline. He urged politicians not to overstate the impact of migration.
Austria Excels in Maths and Problem Solving
In mathematics, Austria performed better, scoring 267 points compared to the OECD average of 263. The proportion of top performers rose slightly to 15%, although the share of weak performers also grew from 15% to 21%.
In the new category of “adaptive problem-solving,” Austria also exceeded the OECD average with 253 points, compared to the average of 251. However, more than a quarter of respondents struggled to solve even simple problems with fixed variables.
Social Background Matters
The link between parental education and adult competencies has worsened in Austria. Participants with at least one university-educated parent scored an average of 284 points, compared to just 220 for those whose parents only completed compulsory schooling.
Schleicher emphasised that such disparities are not inevitable, pointing to Spain as an example of a country where policy interventions have successfully addressed these inequalities.
Global Comparisons
The best performances came from Finland, Japan and Sweden, with Switzerland and Germany also ranking above the OECD average. At the other end of the scale, Chile performed the worst, followed by Portugal, Lithuania, Israel and Italy in certain categories.
Despite increased investment in education and higher levels of formal qualifications, the OECD report concludes that reading skills have declined in many developed countries. Schleicher warned: “The growing demands of modern life and the workplace make these findings deeply concerning.”
