EU teen literacy rate slides

BRUSSELS, July 11 (UPI) -- The literacy rate among youths in the European Union is shrinking, an EU Commission report indicates.

The report found that in 2006, 24 percent of 15-year olds qualified as "low performers in reading" -- an increase of 21.3 percent increase over 2000 figures.

Boys scored almost twice as badly as girls, 30 percent to 17 percent, the EU Observer reported Friday.

Romania and Bulgaria had the highest proportion of low-performing readers, with more than 50 percent of 15--year-olds in both countries performing poorly in reading and understanding a written text.

Also at the bottom of the list is Greece, with more than 27 percent performing poorly, Italy with 26.4 percent and Spain with more than 25 percent.

Finland tops the rankings with almost 5 percent and Ireland came in at 12 percent.

"It is a real problem ... Literacy is a key competence for lifelong learning," EU Education Commissioner Jan Figel said of the declining literacy rates.