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To view the most recent statistics on Canadian literacy levels, view:

• ABC CANADA’s Summary of the Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Survey [PDF, 331KB] (a survey released May, 2005); and
• ABC CANADA’s Summary of the International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS) [PDF, 428 KB] (released November, 2005)

Low literacy impacts our society and the economy. For statistics related to these issues, view:

• Look through the literacy lens [PDF, 103KB] an ABC CANADA brochure that is also available in printed form.

Adult Literacy in Canada: More of a problem than many realize

• Four out of 10 adult Canadians, age 16 to 65 - representing 9 million Canadians - struggle with low literacy (Adult Literacy and Life Skills (ALL) Survey, Statistics Canada and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2005).
• Considering those adult Canadians with low literacy, 15 per cent have serious problems dealing with any printed materials; an additional 27 per cent can only deal with simple reading tasks. (Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey, 2005)
• Five provinces and territories - Newfoundland and Labrador, PEI, New Brunswick, Quebec and Nunavut - have more people with low literacy than the national average. Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan have fewer people with low literacy (International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS), Statistics Canada, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, and the US National Center for Education Statistics, 2005).
• While the performance of the three western provinces is relatively better than in other regions of the country, four out of 10 people in those provinces still fall in the low-literacy range (International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS), 2005).
• As you go across the country, the percentage of Canadians age 16 and over with the lowest literacy skills range from 14 per cent to 24 per cent, with Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Quebec having the highest percentages. This position has persisted from 1994 statistics to these most recent 2003 statistics (International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS), 2005).
• Though the majority of Canadian youth age 16 to 25 attain the minimum level of literacy skills needed to cope with the demands of everyday life and work, anywhere from 18 per cent to 38 per cent of youth, depending upon the region of the country, do not attain that minimum proficiency (International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS), 2005).
• Sixty per cent of immigrants have low literacy, compared with 37 per cent of native-born Canadians (International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (IALSS), 2005).

Barriers to learning involve programs, policies, socio-economic factors

• Less than half of those who contact a literacy organization actually enroll in a program and of those who enroll, 30 per cent drop out (Patterns of Participation in Canadian Literacy and Upgrading Programs, ABC CANADA in partnership with Literacy BC, 2001).
• Forty-three per cent of those who don’t enroll in a program cite program and policy-related issues as barriers, such as the program contact person not calling them back, long waiting lists and inconvenient times (Patterns of Participation, 2001).
• Dramatic regional variances in program delivery exist. For example, more than one third have no full-time staff; more than two-thirds have one or less full-time staff; and close to 40 per cent are open less than 35 hours per week. This circumstance suggests there is a need for greater funding and for significant infrastructural change (Patterns of Participation, 2001).
• The most highly ranked set of concerns about taking a course are about money/conflict with paid employment and the distant location of the program offered, followed by program-related concerns such as program length, level of difficulty, concerns about the ability to work at one’s own pace and relevance of content (Non-Participation in Literacy and Upgrading Programs, ABC CANADA, 2002).
• Less than 10 per cent of Canadians who could benefit from literacy upgrading programs actually enroll. Research indicates that barriers like job or money problems, lack of childcare and transportation are some of the reasons that prevent people from enrolling (Who Wants to Learn? ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation, 2001).
• Barriers to participation represent challenges to policy makers (to mitigate financial problems and enhance opportunities related to family circumstances, such as providing childcare and eldercare), employers and unions (to provide for upgrading opportunities) and the literacy field (to restructure where needed and address the misunderstandings and nervousness potential participants may harbour) (Non-Participation in Literacy and Upgrading Programs, 2002).
• Among non-high school graduates interviewed, close to 60 per cent said they thought about upgrading or completing their high school diploma, while only 20 per cent thought they would actually take a program in the next five years (Non-Participation in Literacy and Upgrading Programs, 2002).