CATS AND DOGS 1 in 5 American adults (20 per cent) is functionally illiterate

A 1982 study indicated that approximately 13 per cent of American adults age 20 or over (17 to 21 million people) do not read at all—or read below the 4th grade level.

Seventy-five per cent of unemployed adults have reading or writing difficulties.

Sixty per cent of America’s prison inmates are illiterate, and 85 per cent of all juvenile offenders have problems reading.

The number of illiterate adults exceeds by 16 million the entire vote cast for the winner in the 1980 presidential contest.

Only 3 to 4 million adults with literacy- related problems are reached by government programs each year.

Thirteen per cent of all 17-year olds are functionally illiterate. Among minority youth, the figure is 44 per cent.

In , the federal government spent $17 per illiterate adult to aid adult literacy efforts.

Sixty per cent of American’s prison inmates are illiterate, and 85 per cent of all juvenile offenders have problems reading.