In 2024, 21 percent of adults in the U.S. were found to be illiterate, while 54 percent of adults had a literacy below a sixth grade level, according to the National Literacy Institute.

The literacy rate in the U.S. appears to be decreasing, with it down nearly 10 points since 2017.

According to data released in December by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which is part of the Department of Education, 28 percent of adults in the U.S. ranked at the lowest levels of literacy, compared to 19 percent in 2017, according to news outlet wtrf.com.

Newsweek has contacted the National Center of Education Statistics for comment on the data.

The National Literary Institute also reportedthat low levels of literacy costs the country up to $2.2 trillion a year with 50 percent of those unemployed between ages 16 and 21 not considered to be functionally literate…