The graph displays the data on the proportion of 15-year-old students with low literacy levels across four different countries during the period from 2000 to 2009. Overall, while Austria, Ireland, and Sweden experienced an increase in the percentage of students with low literacy levels, Denmark was the only country that saw a decline.
From 2000 to 2009, there are two main patterns can be observed: most countries saw rising rates while 1 country showed a falling. Three countries: Austria, Ireland, Sweden experienced growth in percentage of children with low literacy levels while Denmark was the only one that declined. Ireland and Sweden showed a gradual increase in low literacy levels: in 2000, Ireland started at roughly 11%, Sweden was 13% and by 2009, they both reached a similar number of around 16%. Austria showed the most significant growth. Although Austria’s percentage was slightly below Denmark’s in 2000, nearly 15%, it rose rapidly to about 21% in 2003, followed by a slow climb to 22% in 2006, and then increased sharply again, finishing at approximately 27% in 2009. Denmark was the only country to show a slight improvement in literacy, with the percentage of students struggling with reading and writing declining modestly from approximately 17% in 2000 to 15% in 2009. Despite the small decrease, Denmark ended the period with the lowest rate of poor literacy among the countries examined.
Apart from Denmark, all countries experienced a general increase in the number of 15-year-olds with literacy challenges. The gap between countries was relatively small in 2000, ranging from 11% to 17%, but widened significantly by 2009, with figures varying from 15% to over 27%.