• Pipoca@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      This basically comes down to how you define literacy.

      Nationally, 21% of Americans have level 1 or below literacy on the PIAAC literacy scale. That’s probably where the 85 people came from.

      12% are at level 1, meaning they can only read at a basic level. 4% are functionally illiterate, and 4% had some kind of cognitive or physical handicap or language barrier that kept them from being surveyed.

      About 34% of illiterate Americans were born outside the US, so they’re possibly literature in another language.