Countries by Low Adult Numeracy
Complete ranking of 32 countries • Percentage of adults • Updated 2026
About Adults With Low Numeracy Skills Rankings
Chile leads all 32 countries in Adults With Low Numeracy Skills with a value of 47.716, while Japan ranks last at 7.82. This represents a 6-fold difference between the highest and lowest values.
What Adults With Low Numeracy Skills Measures
Adults With Low Numeracy Skills is a comparative indicator tracked across countries by the OECD. It provides a quantitative basis for cross-national comparison, enabling researchers and policymakers to benchmark national performance on this dimension against global peers.
Why This Ranking Matters
Examining Adults With Low Numeracy Skills across all countries reveals patterns that might not be obvious at the national level. Regional clusters, outlier nations, and historical trajectories all become clearer when the full global picture is assembled in a single ranking.
Global Range
Values range from 7.82 (Japan) to 47.716 (Chile) — a 6-fold difference across 32 countries.
Regional Patterns
European countries dominate this ranking, holding 14 of the top 20 positions. This strong regional concentration suggests shared economic, geographic, or policy factors that drive higher values across the continent.
Values are broadly distributed across countries, with the middle 50% ranging from 14.904 to 26.287. The overall spread from 7.82 to 47.716 reflects significant global variation.
Notable Outliers
The top of the ranking is competitive: Chile and Mexico are separated by only 4%, indicating that the leading positions could shift with updated data.
Continental Leaders
Data Source & Methodology
Rankings are based on the latest available data from OECD, covering 32 of 249 countries and territories. Countries without data for this metric are excluded from the ranking. All values represent the most recently reported figures.
Top 10 Countries
Full Rankings
| Percentile | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st |  Chile | 47.7% | South America | 100% |
| 2nd |  Mexico | 46.1% | North America | 97% |
| 3rd |  Turkey | 39.0% | Europe | 94% |
| 4th |  Portugal | 34.1% | Europe | 91% |
| 5th |  Poland | 29.8% | Europe | 88% |
| 6th |  Italy | 28.1% | Europe | 84% |
| 7th |  Israel | 27.2% | Asia | 81% |
| 8th |  Lithuania | 26.3% | Europe | 78% |
| 9th |  United States | 25.0% | North America | 75% |
| 10th |  Spain | 24.1% | Europe | 72% |
| 11th |  Hungary | 24.1% | Europe | 69% |
| 12th |  France | 22.6% | Europe | 66% |
| 13th |  South Korea | 21.8% | Asia | 63% |
| 14th |  Latvia | 21.1% | Europe | 59% |
| 15th |  New Zealand | 20.9% | Oceania | 56% |
| 16th |  Austria | 19.8% | Europe | 53% |
| 17th |  Greece | 19.5% | Europe | 50% |
| 18th |  Slovenia | 19.5% | Europe | 47% |
| 19th |  Germany | 17.2% | Europe | 44% |
| 20th |  Czechia | 17.2% | Europe | 41% |
| 21st |  Slovakia | 16.7% | Europe | 38% |
| 22nd |  Ireland | 16.3% | Europe | 34% |
| 23rd |  Switzerland | 16.2% | Europe | 31% |
| 24th |  Canada | 14.9% | North America | 28% |
| 25th |  Denmark | 14.2% | Europe | 25% |
| 26th |  Estonia | 13.3% | Europe | 22% |
| 27th |  Netherlands | 12.5% | Europe | 19% |
| 28th |  Australia | 11.1% | Oceania | 16% |
| 29th |  Norway | 11.1% | Europe | 13% |
| 30th |  Finland | 9.8% | Europe | 9% |
| 31st |  Sweden | 8.8% | Europe | 6% |
| 32nd |  Japan | 7.8% | Asia | 3% |