A recent international study, the PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies), has highlighted significant gaps in the skills of Czechs, with one-third unable to solve tasks effectively and a quarter struggling with reading comprehension.
The survey, conducted in 2022 and 2023 across 31 countries, assessed adults’ abilities in literacy, numeracy, and adaptive problem-solving—skills vital for success in today’s world.
The findings show that many adults in the Czech Republic face challenges with basic skills that are crucial in both work and daily life. The study did not focus on formal education but rather on practical abilities to process information and resolve problems.
According to the results, a quarter of people aged 16 to 65 have very low reading skills, severely limiting their ability to navigate daily tasks. While they can easily find a phone number in a short text, such as an advertisement, they struggle with longer and more complex texts, including detailed information on websites.
Additionally, 21 percent of Czechs in this age group are only capable of handling basic numerical data, such as whole numbers, but encounter difficulties when tasked with more complex calculations, like percentages.
The report also revealed that less than a third (29 percent) of adults in the country face difficulties in adaptive problem-solving. Approximately two million people in the Czech Republic are only capable of solving simple problems where conditions do not change. The study found significant differences based on education levels: vocational school graduates with secondary diplomas (17 percent), those with general education (11 percent), and university students (6 percent) reported fewer challenges in these areas.
