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Digest of Education Statistics
2022 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 604.30. Employment rates and median monthly earnings of 25- to 65-year-olds, by literacy proficiency level, numeracy proficiency level, and country or subnational region: 2012 through 2017
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Country or subnational region1 Total population of 25- to 65-year-olds Proficiency level2
At or below level 1 At level 2 At level 3 At level 4 or level 5
Employment rate of labor force3 Median monthly earnings (in 2019 constant dollars)4 Employment rate of labor force3 Median monthly earnings (in 2019 constant dollars)4 Employment rate of labor force3 Median monthly earnings (in 2019 constant dollars)4 Employment rate of labor force3 Median monthly earnings (in 2019 constant dollars)4 Employment rate of labor force3 Median monthly earnings (in 2019 constant dollars)4
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
  Literacy
OECD average5 93.4 (0.08) $2,460 (10) 90.0 (0.29) $1,870 (20) 92.8 (0.17) $2,250 (16) 94.7 (0.17) $2,750 (20) 96.0 (0.42) $3,330   (85)

Austria
96.2 (0.38) --- (†) 92.9 (1.54) --- (†) 96.0 (0.79) --- (†) 97.2 (0.60) --- (†) 97.8 (1.28) ---   (†)
Canada 95.9 (0.22) --- (†) 93.7 (0.92) --- (†) 95.4 (0.55) --- (†) 96.7 (0.46) --- (†) 97.3 (0.61) ---   (†)
Chile6 96.2 (0.64) 1,230 (81) 96.0 (0.77) 1,000 (60) 96.6 (1.01) 1,520 (132) 96.4 (1.71) 2,100 (239) 94.7 (7.93)   (†)
Czech Republic 94.2 (0.20) 1,640 (12) 91.3 (2.62) 1,310 (117) 92.6 (0.93) 1,550 (51) 95.6 (0.87) 1,770 (75) 97.7 (1.39) 2,050   (135)
Denmark 94.5 (0.38) 4,200 (28) 90.8 (1.45) 3,460 (95) 94.5 (0.75) 3,930 (52) 95.0 (0.62) 4,430 (50) 96.4 (1.44) 5,000   (200)

England (UK)
94.0 (0.08) 3,010 (53) 87.5 (1.65) 2,100 (156) 92.5 (0.91) 2,510 (161) 96.2 (0.55) 3,330 (116) 97.3 (0.79) 4,300   (208)
Estonia 93.4 (0.34) 1,540 (22) 89.5 (1.48) 1,170 (58) 92.1 (0.75) 1,330 (34) 94.5 (0.53) 1,590 (25) 97.4 (0.74) 2,070   (82)
Finland 95.5 (0.39) 3,280 (23) 92.5 (2.04) 2,690 (128) 95.3 (0.84) 3,030 (99) 95.8 (0.59) 3,330 (69) 96.1 (0.63) 3,700   (69)
Flanders (Belgium) 98.0 (0.21) 3,590 (50) 96.5 (0.93) 2,810 (81) 97.4 (0.55) 3,270 (74) 98.6 (0.40) 3,830 (82) 98.9 (0.68) 4,320   (150)
France 92.9 (0.19) 2,450 (28) 89.4 (1.08) 2,020 (43) 92.9 (0.66) 2,320 (42) 94.3 (0.64) 2,680 (39) 95.0 (1.39) 3,230   (107)

Germany
95.2 (0.40) --- (†) 91.1 (1.53) --- (†) 94.9 (0.84) --- (†) 96.3 (0.63) --- (†) 98.3 (0.73) ---   (†)
Greece6 80.4 (0.90) 1,540 (34) 83.6 (2.00) 1,310 (90) 77.0 (1.94) 1,520 (71) 80.5 (2.47) 1,610 (98) 87.9 (5.15) 1,790   (251)
Hungary7 96.6 (0.25) --- (†) 93.1 (0.97) --- (†) 96.1 (0.52) --- (†) 98.1 (0.41) --- (†) 98.8 (0.81) ---   (†)
Ireland 89.2 (0.53) 3,310 (49) 83.6 (1.95) 2,300 (129) 86.7 (1.12) 2,860 (100) 92.0 (1.02) 3,830 (125) 95.8 (1.36) 4,530   (324)
Israel6 95.2 (0.20) 2,120 (34) 94.6 (0.86) 1,690 (71) 95.1 (0.69) 1,990 (72) 96.0 (0.67) 2,560 (103) 94.9 (1.56) 3,260   (419)

Italy
87.7 (0.66) 2,430 (50) 84.1 (1.91) 2,150 (126) 87.2 (1.30) 2,340 (60) 90.8 (1.34) 2,750 (84) 93.5 (3.39) 3,030   (345)
Japan 97.6 (0.22) 2,880 (114) 98.9 (1.01) 1,780 (182) 99.1 (0.63) 2,320 (95) 97.5 (0.45) 2,930 (103) 96.2 (0.83) 3,590   (179)
Korea, Republic of 96.8 (0.27) 2,820 (33) 97.4 (0.86) 1,960 (97) 97.0 (0.53) 2,680 (68) 96.7 (0.59) 3,330 (90) 95.5 (1.71) 4,060   (229)
Lithuania6 90.1 (0.60) 1,110 (17) 84.4 (2.23) 830 (69) 89.1 (1.15) 1,020 (51) 92.9 (0.99) 1,290 (58) 93.6 (2.57) 1,580   (130)
Mexico7 97.2 (0.33) 660 (42) 97.1 (0.49) 560 (23) 97.5 (0.65) 740 (21) 96.3 (1.29) 1,070 (116) (†)   (†)

Netherlands
95.8 (0.41) 3,430 (21) 91.5 (2.00) 2,460 (142) 94.7 (0.93) 2,950 (77) 97.0 (0.59) 3,580 (74) 96.8 (0.88) 4,320   (113)
New Zealand6 94.8 (0.39) 3,130 (82) 89.4 (1.63) 2,340 (120) 93.7 (0.94) 2,780 (88) 95.5 (0.66) 3,340 (114) 97.7 (0.69) 4,030   (147)
Northern Ireland (UK) 94.7 (0.49) 2,600 (51) 90.6 (2.03) 1,900 (85) 94.4 (0.96) 2,310 (107) 95.9 (1.01) 2,930 (116) 96.0 (2.10) 3,860   (154)
Norway 97.1 (0.31) 4,230 (39) 93.6 (1.66) 3,290 (113) 96.8 (0.74) 3,860 (71) 97.6 (0.45) 4,420 (108) 98.8 (0.65) 5,010   (104)
Poland 91.9 (0.49) 1,490 (17) 88.0 (1.75) 1,200 (72) 90.8 (1.08) 1,340 (68) 93.9 (0.89) 1,740 (66) 95.5 (1.56) 2,180   (124)

Slovak Republic
90.7 (0.48) 1,430 (14) 79.6 (2.60) 1,020 (57) 90.4 (1.06) 1,280 (73) 92.5 (0.80) 1,520 (30) 93.3 (2.09) 1,670   (132)
Slovenia6 89.2 (0.58) 1,580 (12) 87.1 (1.71) 1,230 (44) 89.7 (1.05) 1,470 (37) 90.0 (1.06) 1,870 (49) 90.0 (2.82) 2,280   (124)
Spain 82.7 (0.63) 2,280 (35) 75.1 (1.60) 1,860 (56) 82.5 (1.32) 2,160 (52) 87.4 (1.19) 2,650 (105) 92.1 (2.30) 3,310   (269)
Sweden 94.9 (0.44) --- (†) 85.3 (2.21) --- (†) 94.2 (1.01) --- (†) 96.3 (0.69) --- (†) 98.4 (0.73) ---   (†)
Turkey6 93.3 (0.43) --- (†) 91.7 (1.07) --- (†) 93.9 (0.80) --- (†) 95.8 (1.71) --- (†) (†) ---   (†)

United States8
93.2 (0.18) 3,630 (81) 89.0 (1.25) 2,370 (132) 91.2 (0.82) 3,080 (106) 95.0 (0.48) 4,220 (158) 97.0 (0.66) 5,630   (368)

Non-OECD participants
                                         
Cyprus9 92.0 (0.64) 2,630 (42) 87.3 (2.50) 2,300 (143) 91.8 (1.22) 2,480 (100) 93.1 (1.03) 2,800 (113) 93.9 (2.04) 3,370   (275)
Ecuador7 94.8 (0.56) 750 (17) 94.5 (0.71) 690 (30) 95.5 (1.08) 850 (56) 96.6 (2.12) 1,230 (195) (†)   (†)
Kazakhstan7 95.9 (0.37) 840 (12) 95.1 (0.94) 780 (43) 95.6 (0.65) 820 (31) 97.2 (0.72) 910 (29) 98.2 (1.61) 1,060   (131)
Peru7 97.7 (0.19) --- (†) 97.9 (0.25) --- (†) 97.3 (0.58) --- (†) 97.2 (1.60) --- (†) (†) ---   (†)
Russian Federation10 94.9 (1.02) 820 (57) 95.0 (2.53) 780 (69) 95.9 (1.48) 750 (56) 95.0 (1.33) 870 (39) 91.7 (2.82) 960   (100)

Singapore6
96.6 (0.28) --- (†) 95.8 (0.68) --- (†) 96.6 (0.64) --- (†) 97.1 (0.65) --- (†) 97.3 (1.17) ---   (†)
  Numeracy
OECD average5 93.4 (0.08) $2,460 (10) 89.0 (0.29) $1,840 (18) 92.9 (0.18) $2,250 (18) 95.0 (0.17) $2,810 (22) 96.7 (0.32) $3,540   (69)

Austria
96.2 (0.38) --- (†) 92.7 (1.56) --- (†) 95.9 (0.79) --- (†) 97.0 (0.56) --- (†) 97.6 (0.88) ---   (†)
Canada 95.9 (0.22) --- (†) 93.0 (0.83) --- (†) 95.7 (0.57) --- (†) 96.8 (0.54) --- (†) 98.4 (0.58) ---   (†)
Chile6 96.2 (0.64) 1,230 (81) 95.8 (0.71) 960 (28) 96.3 (1.15) 1,810 (154) 97.9 (1.75) 2,530 (220) 98.8 (1.66) 2,970 ! (937)
Czech Republic 94.2 (0.20) 1,640 (12) 87.3 (2.81) 1,250 (95) 92.8 (0.92) 1,500 (103) 95.9 (0.69) 1,750 (53) 97.9 (1.82) 2,010   (117)
Denmark 94.5 (0.38) 4,200 (28) 89.4 (1.72) 3,350 (101) 93.2 (1.02) 3,760 (112) 95.6 (0.60) 4,310 (54) 96.8 (0.77) 5,130   (143)

England (UK)
94.0 (0.08) 3,010 (53) 87.6 (1.25) 2,060 (109) 94.1 (0.83) 2,630 (120) 96.5 (0.74) 3,460 (197) 97.6 (0.87) 4,480   (244)
Estonia 93.4 (0.34) 1,540 (22) 87.6 (1.53) 1,080 (35) 92.2 (0.76) 1,310 (31) 94.9 (0.58) 1,630 (48) 98.0 (0.73) 2,270   (119)
Finland 95.5 (0.39) 3,280 (23) 90.8 (2.06) 2,560 (86) 94.9 (0.94) 2,980 (63) 96.3 (0.58) 3,410 (62) 96.8 (0.62) 3,940   (84)
Flanders (Belgium) 98.0 (0.21) 3,590 (50) 96.8 (0.99) 2,730 (102) 97.4 (0.62) 3,180 (68) 98.5 (0.39) 3,750 (52) 98.5 (0.51) 4,500   (114)
France 92.9 (0.19) 2,450 (28) 89.1 (0.87) 2,000 (45) 92.4 (0.75) 2,310 (68) 95.5 (0.84) 2,750 (46) 95.7 (1.42) 3,450   (113)

Germany
95.2 (0.40) --- (†) 89.8 (1.52) --- (†) 94.5 (0.89) --- (†) 96.4 (0.65) --- (†) 98.8 (0.58) ---   (†)
Greece6 80.4 (0.90) 1,540 (34) 81.4 (2.17) 1,300 (80) 76.9 (1.62) 1,490 (58) 81.4 (2.24) 1,660 (103) 91.1 (3.08) 1,850   (240)
Hungary7 96.6 (0.25) --- (†) 93.1 (1.20) --- (†) 95.3 (0.65) --- (†) 98.0 (0.46) --- (†) 99.0 (0.53) ---   (†)
Ireland 89.2 (0.53) 3,310 (49) 84.1 (1.85) 2,280 (102) 88.2 (1.12) 2,920 (163) 92.1 (1.17) 3,980 (94) 94.9 (1.77) 5,100   (417)
Israel6 95.2 (0.20) 2,120 (34) 94.0 (0.87) 1,610 (85) 95.0 (0.84) 1,950 (78) 96.2 (0.66) 2,630 (98) 96.2 (1.24) 3,590   (260)

Italy
87.7 (0.66) 2,430 (50) 82.5 (1.91) 2,160 (119) 88.0 (1.28) 2,290 (85) 90.8 (1.28) 2,710 (103) 95.0 (2.64) 3,270   (305)
Japan 97.6 (0.22) 2,880 (114) 98.8 (0.95) 1,700 (191) 96.9 (0.83) 2,260 (135) 97.6 (0.54) 2,950 (120) 98.1 (0.64) 4,150   (157)
Korea, Republic of 96.8 (0.27) 2,820 (33) 96.4 (0.85) 2,010 (94) 96.8 (0.52) 2,710 (66) 96.9 (0.61) 3,380 (98) 97.1 (1.17) 4,280   (308)
Lithuania6 90.1 (0.60) 1,110 (17) 80.9 (2.15) 800 (64) 89.3 (1.26) 1,000 (24) 93.4 (1.08) 1,260 (59) 96.9 (1.39) 1,720   (200)
Mexico7 97.2 (0.33) 660 (42) 97.3 (0.42) 580 (28) 97.1 (0.69) 770 (33) 96.5 (1.31) 1,160 (121) (†)   (†)

Netherlands
95.8 (0.41) 3,430 (21) 90.1 (1.95) 2,410 (122) 95.5 (0.92) 2,910 (91) 96.9 (0.57) 3,620 (102) 97.2 (0.96) 4,570   (120)
New Zealand6 94.8 (0.39) 3,130 (82) 90.0 (1.28) 2,380 (76) 94.2 (0.80) 2,810 (111) 96.0 (0.67) 3,400 (116) 97.7 (0.71) 4,390   (199)
Northern Ireland (UK) 94.7 (0.49) 2,600 (51) 91.2 (1.54) 1,870 (93) 94.5 (1.19) 2,410 (93) 96.4 (1.06) 3,050 (181) 96.0 (2.39) 3,950   (163)
Norway 97.1 (0.31) 4,230 (39) 92.9 (1.65) 3,230 (110) 96.6 (0.77) 3,750 (47) 97.9 (0.45) 4,390 (94) 98.5 (0.56) 5,280   (135)
Poland 91.9 (0.49) 1,490 (17) 86.5 (1.75) 1,200 (82) 91.8 (1.15) 1,380 (45) 94.0 (0.86) 1,760 (43) 96.4 (1.47) 2,290   (102)

Slovak Republic
90.7 (0.48) 1,430 (14) 75.3 (2.92) 990 (65) 89.5 (1.12) 1,260 (57) 93.4 (0.77) 1,500 (46) 94.9 (1.41) 1,680   (74)
Slovenia6 89.2 (0.58) 1,580 (12) 84.7 (1.68) 1,190 (29) 90.2 (1.34) 1,480 (43) 90.9 (1.17) 1,840 (50) 90.2 (2.10) 2,310   (107)
Spain 82.7 (0.63) 2,280 (35) 74.2 (1.59) 1,810 (61) 82.7 (1.45) 2,170 (65) 88.9 (1.51) 2,790 (121) 93.3 (2.70) 3,350   (319)
Sweden 94.9 (0.44) --- (†) 86.2 (2.24) --- (†) 93.9 (1.33) --- (†) 96.5 (0.68) --- (†) 98.2 (0.63) ---   (†)
Turkey6 93.3 (0.43) --- (†) 91.7 (1.13) --- (†) 94.4 (1.04) --- (†) 94.3 (1.48) --- (†) 97.8 (2.71) ---   (†)

United States8
93.2 (0.18) 3,630 (81) 88.1 (0.92) 2,410 (125) 92.6 (0.66) 3,280 (145) 96.1 (0.45) 4,580 (152) 97.5 (0.64) 6,390   (541)
                                           
Non-OECD participants                                          
Cyprus9 92.0 (0.64) 2,630 (42) 86.6 (2.24) 2,090 (107) 91.7 (1.26) 2,480 (98) 93.4 (1.04) 2,870 (129) 95.9 (1.57) 3,480   (386)
Ecuador7 94.8 (0.56) 750 (17) 94.3 (0.71) 660 (28) 95.8 (1.07) 950 (70) 97.2 (2.22) 1,210 (200) (†)   (†)
Kazakhstan7 95.9 (0.37) 840 (12) 95.5 (1.02) 760 (34) 95.7 (0.63) 820 (58) 96.7 (0.92) 960 (44) 99.3 (1.48) 1,170   (186)
Peru7 97.7 (0.19) --- (†) 97.7 (0.25) --- (†) 97.6 (0.62) --- (†) 98.5 (0.98) --- (†) 99.6 (0.96) ---   (†)
Russian Federation10 94.9 (1.02) 820 (57) 96.3 (2.04) 680 (74) 95.5 (1.41) 750 (54) 94.9 (1.53) 900 (44) 90.5 (3.89) 940   (63)

Singapore6
96.6 (0.28) --- (†) 95.6 (0.71) --- (†) 96.6 (0.71) --- (†) 96.9 (0.62) --- (†) 98.3 (0.72) ---   (†)
---Not available.
†Not applicable.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.
1 Most of the education systems represent complete countries, but three of them represent subnational regions: England (which is part of the United Kingdom), Flanders (which is part of Belgium), and Northern Ireland (which is part of the United Kingdom).
2 In this table, scores below level 1 and scores at level 1 are combined into the "at or below level 1" reporting category; scores at level 4 and scores at level 5 are combined into the "at level 4 or level 5" reporting category. For both literacy and numeracy, the proficiency-level reporting categories correspond to the score ranges shown in parentheses: at or below level 1 (0-225.9), at level 2 (226.0-275.9), at level 3 (276.0-325.9), and at level 4 or level 5 (326.0-500.0).
3 The employment rate is the percentage of the labor force that is employed. The labor force consists of those who are employed as well as those who are unemployed but actively looking for work.
4 Median monthly earnings for those who are employed. Data adjusted to U.S. dollars using the purchasing power parity (PPP) index.
5 Refers to the median of the data values for all reporting Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries and subnational regions, to which each country or subnational region reporting data contributes equally.
6 Data are from 2015.
7 Data are from 2017.
8 Results from the United States are based on combined data from 2012 and 2014. The 2017 data from the United States are not presented in this table.
9 Cyprus includes only the population under the effective control of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus.
10 The Russian Federation does not include the population of the Moscow municipal region.
NOTE: The main data collection for the PIAAC survey was completed in 2012. Unless otherwise noted, all countries' and subnational regions' results are based on the 2012 round of data collection. A second round of international data collection was completed in 2015; this round was conducted only in nine countries/regions that did not participate in the first round. Although Jakarta (Indonesia) participated in the second round of data collection, its data were not reported due to data issues. A third round of international data collection was completed in 2017; this round was conducted only in the United States and five other countries/regions that did not participate in the first or second round. In the United States only, a supplemental round of data collection was completed in 2014 to expand the sample of U.S. adults, allowing for more in-depth data analysis. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), U.S. PIAAC 2012/2014; Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), PIAAC, 2012, 2015, and 2017. (This table was prepared July 2021.)

2022 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest