Press Release: European countries need to step up efforts to boost reading skills, study says

One in five 15 year olds and many adults in Europe cannot read properly. A new study published by the European Commission on 11 July 2011 shows what countries are doing to improve reading literacy – and where they are falling short.

The study, which covers 31 countries (EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Turkey), reveals that while most have made progress in developing literacy policies, they often lack focus on the groups most at risk, such as boys, children from disadvantaged households and migrant children. EU Education Ministers have set a target to reduce the share of poor readers from 20% to less than 15% by 2020. Only Belgium (Flemish Community), Denmark, Estonia, Finland and Poland have already achieved this target.