What percentage of people in the Philippines can read comprehension?

In the Philippines, about 70.8% of people aged 10-64 have functional literacy, meaning they can read, write, compute, and comprehend, while a higher 93.1% have basic literacy (read/write/compute), revealing a significant gap where millions can read but struggle to understand texts, a situation highlighted by the 2024 FLEMMS survey. This means roughly 29.2% lack comprehension skills, even if they can recognize words, with alarming figures showing many high school graduates struggle with basic comprehension.

What is the reading literacy rate in the Philippines?

The latest FLEMMS findings highlight that the Philippines continues to maintain a strong basic literacy rate of 93.1% among individuals aged 10 to 64 years old. This underscores the country's success in ensuring that the vast majority of Filipinos can read, write, and compute—important foundational skills.

How many students in the Philippines don't know how to read?

Almost 19 million junior, senior high graduates can't read A total of 18.96 million Filipino students who graduated from senior high school and junior high school in 2024 cannot read and understand a simple story, according to data presented at a Senate hearing on Wednesday, April 30, 2025.

Which country has the highest reading comprehension?

Asian education systems dominate global reading performance, led by Singapore. Only a handful of countries score well above the OECD average of 476.

How many Filipinos are functionally literate?

Using the new definition, literacy rates in 2024 of Filipinos aged 10 to 64 years old show that basic literacy is at 93.1% while functional literacy is at 70.8%--implying a gap of roughly 22 percentage points.

PSA: Nearly 19-M senior and junior high school graduates lack proper reading comprehension | TBS

Which country has a 100 literacy rate?

Literacy rates in this graphic are defined as the percentage of people over the age of 15 that can read and write. There are nine countries in the world that have a 100% literacy rate: Andorra, Finland, Greenland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and North Korea.

Is illiteracy a problem in the Philippines?

In the past three decades, the number of functionally illiterate Filipinos has nearly doubled to 24.8 million in 2024, from 14.5 million in 1993 according to the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2).

Why is reading comprehension low in the Philippines?

It can be gleaned that the disadvantaged socioeconomic environment of Filipino learners may influence their reading performance and academic success. Secondly, the learners' experiences in the classroom and school involve teacher-related factors that may influence the students' sense of self.

What country has a 99% literacy rate?

Many countries boast a 99% or near-100% literacy rate, including developed nations like Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the USA, alongside European countries such as Finland, Norway, and Ukraine, and former Soviet states like Uzbekistan and Belarus, indicating near-universal basic reading and writing skills in these regions. While some lists show countries like Andorra, Finland, or North Korea at 100%, many others consistently report 99% or higher, like Antigua and Barbuda, Croatia, and Israel. 

What is the Philippines ranked in reading comprehension?

MANILA, Philippines — For the second straight assessment, the Philippines landed in the bottom 10 out of 81 countries in reading comprehension, mathematics and science and showed minimal improvement, results of the 2022 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) test revealed.

Why is the Philippines ranked lowest in literacy?

Underfunding, under-qualification, under-development. The education sector is underfunded, with the country spending only 3.6% of its GDP on it, below the UNESCO-recommended 4-6%. Infrastructure is a persistent issue with many schools lacking basic resources such as books and personnel.

What are the top 3 problems in the Philippines?

The top issues in the Philippines often center on deep-seated socio-economic challenges like poverty, unemployment, and unequal access to quality education, alongside significant governance concerns such as corruption and human rights issues, particularly around drug policies and extrajudicial killings, plus the pressing threats of climate change and environmental degradation. 

What is the reading comprehension of Filipino learners?

The study found out that the Philippines ranked the lowest in terms of Reading Comprehension with 340, which is the lowest score in all countries surveyed.

What rank is the Philippines in education?

The latest ranking of the Global Education Futures Readiness Index (GEFRI) 2025 showed that the Philippines ranked 74th out of 177 countries in the world. The GEFRI evaluates the preparation of a country's education system for the future in five areas: innovation, infrastructure, human capital, governance, and equity.

What is the top 10 highest literacy rate in the Philippines?

👏 Here are your Top 10: Apayao – 95.2% Benguet (excluding Baguio) – 94.9% Romblon – 94.6% Nueva Ecija – 94.23% Bohol – 94.22% Rizal – 94.20% South Cotabato (excluding GenSan) – 93.7% Bataan – 93.64% Cavite – 93.56% Bulacan – 93.5% The FLEMMS is a national survey guiding policy and program development to improve ...

What percentage of the Philippines is educated?

Philippines literacy rate for 2020 was 98.00%, a 2% increase from 2019.

What country is #1 in literacy?

At the top, small wealthy states and former socialist countries such as Andorra, Finland, Russia, and Uzbekistan report literacy rates around 99, 100%.

What is the literacy rate in the Philippines?

As of 2021, the Philippines has a high literacy rate of 99.27 percent, which is a positive achievement. However, in 2022, the World Bank classified 90 percent of Filipino children aged 10 as learning poor, indicating their inability to read and understand a simple text by that age.

What are the signs of low literacy?

Poor spelling, both on tests and in written compositions: Frequent misspellings, guesses. Slow, halting reading (poor fluency) Must reread to understand. Weak reading comprehension: Can't recognize words in a passage or sound out important words; so slow and halting, she can't recall what's been read.

Why are Filipino students ranked last in the reading comprehension survey?

MANILA - Filipino students ranked last among 79 countries in a global survey of reading comprehension because they are more used to narrative instead of informative text materials, a group said Thursday.

What is the biggest problem in education today in the Philippines?

For years, the Philippine education system has faced big challenges—classroom shortages, poor learning outcomes, limited financing, and bureaucratic processes that slow down service delivery.

How many Filipinos read books?

This appeal follows the release of the 2023 National Readership Survey (NRS), indicating a notable decline in non-school book readership among Filipino adults and children. According to the survey, adult readership stood at 42 percent, with children at 47 percent in 2023.

How many students in the Philippines can't read?

Almost 19 million junior, senior high graduates can't read A total of 18.96 million Filipino students who graduated from senior high school and junior high school in 2024 cannot read and understand a simple story, according to data presented at a Senate hearing on Wednesday, April 30, 2025.

How many people in the Philippines are not educated?

The Philippines is undergoing an education crisis. 24 million Filipinos aged 10-64 are functionally illiterate, with 5.8 million being basically illiterate. The World Bank reports that 91% of Filipino children aged 10 struggle to read simple text, a rate that has been worsened by the Covid 19 pandemic.

What are the causes of reading difficulties in the Philippines?

The perceived causes of non-mastery of the elements of reading are: no phonological awareness, non-mastery of alphabet knowledge, non-mastery of phonics, poor word recognition and vocabulary, poor fluency skills, and lack of comprehension. The Grade 1 learners in Filipino experienced difficulties on sound blending.