An additional analysis of the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) found that nearly one-fifth of people in Estonia aged 16 to 65 have reading proficiency levels below what is required to function successfully and independently in a rapidly changing work and social environment. Limited reading skills mean a person may struggle to understand longer texts and those containing implicit information, to locate and distinguish important details and to assess the reliability of what they read, especially in new situations.

Triin Savisto, adviser at the Ministry of Education and Research's department of adult education and skills, noted that reading proficiency is linked to both age and level of education.

"In younger age groups, our results in information-processing skills are better than in older age groups. On the one hand, this may indicate that older age groups, even if they once obtained higher education, have not had the opportunity to use their skills in practice. In other words, those skills have faded over time. And just to clarify, we are talking about people aged 45 and over who are still very much of working age, so the issue is actually quite serious."

According to Maria Jürimäe, a board member of the Estonian Reading Association, the increase in the share of people with low functional reading skills — from 14 percent to 20 percent — is concerning.

"Since we have a relatively transparent writing system and perform well in PISA, it is indeed worrying why these adults read so poorly and, in particular, have difficulty understanding what they read. This low level does not mean they cannot read, but they may no longer correctly understand even slightly more complex texts. In general, this may still be related to frequency of use — people who read very little will see their skills deteriorate. But what exactly this is related to — whether they are using other forms of media — is already a matter for speculation."

Kaja Sarapuu, chair of the board of the Association of Estonian Language Teachers, said that children and young people practice functional reading extensively at school. However, as adults, people may become more distracted.

"I believe everyone experiences this themselves — that they are not always very strong functional readers and something can be overlooked. We all tend to be short on time, information comes quickly and we want to get what we need as fast as possible. That means you glance over a text and expect to immediately get what you need, but that is not always sufficient."

Sarapuu recommends taking time to read important texts carefully, reading them through to the end and, if necessary, rereading them.

Savisto added that adult education needs to focus on mitigating measures, offering maximally targeted, diverse and flexible opportunities for continuing education and retraining.

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