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Data profiles:


Germany
Adult skills (Survey of Adult Skills, PIAAC, 2012)
  • The mean proficiency score of 16-65 year-olds in literacy, numeracy and problem solving technology-rich environments is around the average of the OECD countries participating in the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC).
  • The young adult population (25-34 year-olds), in Germany, scores at 281 in literacy, compared to 277 on average in the OECD countries participating in the Survey. In numeracy, they score at 282 (272 in average). In both domains, younger adults score higher than their older counterparts (55-65 year-olds).
  • In Germany, 11.6% of the adult population (16-65 year-olds) report no prior experience with computers or lack very basic computer skills. In contrast, 36% of the adult population score at the highest levels in problem solving in technology-rich environments.
  • In Germany, 17.5% of the adults score at the lowest levels in literacy and 18.4% score low in numeracy.
    • | Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) | Skills Matter: Additional Results from the Survey of Adult Skills (2019) | Country Note | National reports |
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      Literacy is defined as the ability to understand, evaluate, use and engage with written texts in order to participate in society, achieve one's goals, and develop one's knowledge and potential. As measured by the Survey of Adult Skills, literacy encompasses a range of skills, from decoding written words and sentences to understanding, interpreting and evaluating complex texts. It does not, however, involve producing text (writing). Given the growing importance of digital devices and applications as a means of generating, accessing and storing written text, reading digital texts (e.g. texts containing hyper-text and navigation features, such as scrolling or clicking on links) is an integral part of literacy.

    • The average literacy score for the OECD countries participating in the assessment is 266 points. Japan (296 points) has the highest average level of proficiency in literacy followed by Finland (288 points) and the Netherlands (284 points). Chile (220 points), Mexico (222 points) and Turkey (227 points) recorded the lowest average scores among countries. Ecuador and Peru had an even lower average score (196 points). An adult with average literacy proficiency can successfully complete tasks that require paraphrasing, low-level inferences, and matching between the digital or printed text and information.
    • The mean literacy score among 25-34 year-olds is 277 score points, 11 points higher than that for all adults (266 score points). Among the different age groups, 25-34 year-olds have the highest average literacy proficiency, while 55-64 year-olds have the lowest average proficiency (248 score points). While there are some countries/economies where 16-24 year-olds scored higher than 25-34 year-olds, the differences in proficiency between these two age groups are generally small, at less than five score points in Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Mexico and Peru. In most countries/economies, however, 25-34 year-olds have higher average proficiency than 16-24 year-olds, with a difference of about seven points in Israel and New Zealand, and well above 10 points in England (United Kingdom), Finland and the United states.  The literacy proficiency of 55-65 year-olds is particularly low in Chile, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru.
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In general, proficiency in literacy peaks at around age 30.
    
                            
    
                            
    
                                | Main Elements of the Survey of Adult Skills | Education policies: Skills | Education policies: Gender | 
    
                            
    
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      Numeracy is defined as the ability to access, use, interpret and communicate mathematical information and ideas in order to engage in and manage the mathematical demands of a range of situations in adult life.

    • The average score in numeracy among the OECD countries participating in the assessment is 262 points. Japan has the highest average level of proficiency in numeracy (288 points), followed by Finland (282 points). Peru (178 points), Ecuador (185 points), Chile (206 points), and Mexico (210 points) recorded the lowest average scores. An adult with average proficiency in numeracy can successfully complete tasks that require the application of two or more steps or processes involving calculating with whole numbers and common decimals, percentages and fractions; simple measurement and spatial representation; estimation; and interpreting relatively simple data and statistics in texts, tables and graphs.
    • The mean numeracy score among 25-34 year-olds is 272 score points, 10 points higher than that for all adults (262 score points). Among the different age groups, 25-34 year-olds have the highest average numeracy proficiency, while 55-64 year-olds have the lowest average proficiency (245 score points).
    • In general, proficiency in numeracy peaks at around age 30.
    
                            
    
                            
    
                                | Main Elements of the Survey of Adult Skills | Education policies: Skills | Education policies: Gender | 
    
                            
    
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      Problem solving in technology-rich environments is defined as the ability to use digital technology, communication tools and networks to acquire and evaluate information, communicate with others and perform practical tasks. The survey assesses adults' ability to solve problems by establishing appropriate goals and plans, and accessing and using information through computers and computer networks.

    • In nearly all countries, at least 10% of adults have trouble using digital technology, communication tools and networks to acquire and evaluate information, communicate with others and perform practical tasks. Across participating countries, 12% of adults reported having no prior computer experience and a further 4.7% of adults lack the most elementary computer skills, such as the ability to use a mouse. Only 5.1% of adults demonstrate the highest level of proficiency (Level 3) in problem solving in technology-rich environments, where tasks require the ability to use a wider range of applications in less familiar contexts, and to solve problems involving complex pathways to solutions that require navigating around impasses.
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Given that the widespread use of ICTs is a relatively recent phenomenon, younger adults were clearly in a position of relative advantage compared to older adults. On average, some 43% of 25-34 year-olds can solve more complex problems using computers (i.e. those tasks at proficiency Level 2 or 3 in the problem-solving assessment), compared to only 10% of older adults. However, proficiency in problem solving in technology-rich environments among younger adults varies widely across countries. In Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Turkey, between 7% and 13% of 25-34 year-old respondents scored at Level 2 or 3, compared to 55% or more in Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore and Sweden, and to 67% in Finland. 
    • In general, proficiency in problem solving in technology-rich environments peaks at around age 25.
    
                            
    
                            
    
                                | Main Elements of the Survey of Adult Skills | PISA 2015 Results (Volume V): Collaborative Problem Solving | Education policies: Skills | Education policies: Gender | 
    
                            
    
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                    Diagram of education system in country language
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                Education system in Germany
            
            
    
            
    
                
			
    

        
    
		
        
		
    
			
    
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            Diagram of funding flows - Germany
            
    
            
    
        
    


        
		
    
            
    
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            Country Reviews for Germany
            
    
            
    
			
    
        
    
		
              
              
              
              
              
        
    
            Note: These values should be interpreted with care since they are influenced
            by countries' specific contexts and trade-offs. In education, there is often no simple
            most- or least-efficient model. For instance, the share of private expenditure in
            education must be read against other measures designed to mitigate inequities, 
			such as loans and grants; longer learning time is an opportunity to convey
            more and better content to students, but may hinder investments in other important
            areas. If you want further information on the nature of different variables, please
            take the time to read the analysis and contextual information, available at the website
            for each publication.
    
            All rankings for individual variables are compiled on the basis of OECD and G20 countries for which data are available. 
            The OECD average includes only OECD countries which are listed here: http://www.oecd.org/about/membersandpartners/
            

    
	    *TALIS averages are based on all countries participating in the TALIS survey, including partner countries and economies. 
		This explains the difference between the OECD average and the TALIS averages.
		Data from the TALIS survey and Education at a Glance (EAG) may differ. See Annex E of the TALIS technical report and 
		Annex 3 
		of EAG 2021 for more details about the data collections.
            

    
			B-S-J-Z (China) refers to the four PISA-participating provinces/municipalities of the People's Republic of China:
Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
			

    
            For additional notes, please refer to annexes in the list of links below the introductory country profile text.