Send a text message, write an email, read an article… Daily activities, almost automatic for some, but which can prove extremely complicated for others. In 2022, in France, 10% of people aged 18 to 64, or 4 million people, will experience difficulties in fundamental areas of writing, according to a study carried out by INSEE and published this Monday.
In its Lifelong Learning survey, INSEE and Dares questioned nearly 16,200 people aged 18 to 64 living in France on their level of written French, via face-to-face tests. face carried out from September 2022 to March 2023. Three exercises had to be carried out: reading words, writing words and understanding simple texts. A person who obtains less than 80% success in one of the three exercises is considered to have difficulty.
Parents’ educational level
The results show that 10% of adults surveyed have difficulty understanding simple text. 9% experienced difficulty writing words and 5% deciphering them. Among adults who started their schooling in France, 4% are illiterate.
Mastery of writing and arithmetic is closely linked to the level of education of the person and their parents, as well as to the fact of having completed all their schooling in France. Residents of priority neighborhoods of city policy and overseas departments more often have difficulties with writing and calculations.
12% of adults have difficulty with calculations
Difficulties with arithmetic affect 12% of people aged 18 to 64 and tend to add to those with writing: 62% of people with difficulty with writing also have difficulty with arithmetic. Women have more difficulties with calculations than men, a smaller gap for writing. Difficulties with writing, and to a lesser extent with calculations, are more common for older generations.
These difficulties have consequences on daily life by complicating, for example, the use of the Internet in administrative procedures.