Brazil faces high functional illiteracy rates

In Brazil, functional illiteracy remains a significant challenge despite improvements in general literacy rates. According to the 2024 Functional Literacy Indicator (Inaf) survey, approximately 29% of Brazilians between the ages of 15 and 64 are considered functionally illiterate.

This demographic can identify individual words and short phrases but struggles to comprehend longer or more complex texts. Such difficulties impact daily life, affecting the ability to interpret news, understand employment contracts, or follow medication instructions.

Education specialists suggest that text interpretation skills should be developed from childhood to foster critical thinking. There are also concerns that while new technologies facilitate communication through tools like autocorrect and voice messages, they may lead to decreased dedication to formal writing and expression.