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Reference

Health literacy statistics

The figures we use on this site, each with its source and year. Some are old: the national health-literacy figures come from the 2003 NAAL, so we show the year next to every number.

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At a glance

Basic or Below Basic health literacy, by group

Basic or Below Basic health literacy in 2003: all us adults 36%, medicare enrollees 57%, medicaid enrollees 60%.All US adults36%Medicare enrollees57%Medicaid enrollees60%

Source: NAAL 2003, reported in Kutner et al. (2006), 2003. The full bar is 100% of each group.

How old each figure is

5 of 10 figures date from 2003

Source years of the 10 figures: 2003, 5; 2007, 1; 2009, 2; 2023, 1; 2024, 1. Checked in 2026.Checked 20265200312007220091202312024

Each dot is one figure in the list below. The year on each card is the year of its source.

  • About 50%

    of patients with long-term conditions don’t take medicines as prescribed

    Source: World Health Organization, Adherence to Long-Term Therapies, 2003

  • 78%

    of emergency-department patients showed gaps in understanding at least one part of their care or discharge instructions

    Source: Engel et al., Annals of Emergency Medicine, 2009

  • About $290 billion

    a year in avoidable US costs is linked to medication non-adherence

    Source: NEHI (New England Healthcare Institute), 2009

  • $106–$238 billion

    a year: the cost of low health literacy to the US economy

    Source: Vernon et al., Low Health Literacy: Implications for National Health Policy, 2007

  • 12%

    of US adults had proficient health literacy

    Source: NAAL 2003, reported in Kutner et al., NCES 2006-483, 2003

  • 28%

    of US adults aged 16–65 scored at or below Level 1 in general literacy, up from 19% in 2017

    Source: NCES PIAAC, 2023 cycle (released 2024), 2023

  • 36%

    of US adults had Basic or Below Basic health literacy

    Source: NAAL 2003, reported in Kutner et al. (2006), 2003

  • 57%

    of Medicare enrollees had Basic or Below Basic health literacy

    Source: NAAL 2003, reported in Kutner et al. (2006), 2003

  • 60%

    of Medicaid enrollees had Basic or Below Basic health literacy

    Source: NAAL 2003, reported in Kutner et al. (2006), 2003

  • 27.7%

    of health center patients are best served in a language other than English

    Source: HRSA Uniform Data System, 2024

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