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UK children less likely to read than in Latin America, claims study

September 7, 2011

Youngsters in the UK are less likely to read for pleasure than their peers in other countries like Peru, Albania and Kazakhstan.

In findings published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Britain was ranked 47 out of 65 countries in terms of national literacy levels in teenagers, the Telegraph reports.

While 88 per cent of Peruvian teenagers read for pleasure compared with 60.4 per cent in the UK, the study also found that boys are significantly less likely to read than girls of a similar age.

This is despite growing evidence that reading from a young age improves literacy levels in later life, as adults use the skill to "make sense of the world around them and continue learning throughout their lives", explained a member of the OECD's education directorate Andreas Schleicher.

He added: "But for many students around the world, that cycle appears to have broken."

Literacy problems were highlighted recently due to special remedial classes organised at London's new Westfield Stratford City shopping centre after bosses discovered that many employees were actually illiterate, according to the Evening Standard.