Literacy, Age and Recentness of Education Among Nordic Adults

Figures & data

Table 1. Background factors used to explain the variation in reading-literacy performance.

Background factor	Variables used to measure	Variable type
Age at the time of data collection	Age groups in 10-year intervals	Four age categories (years) 25–34 35–44 45–54 55–65	Note. New dichotomous variables, combining age and year of completing highest degree, were derived from these two variables. For details see Table 2.
Education	Decade during which highest degree was completed	Five decade categories 1960–1969 1970–1979 1980–1989 1990–1999 2000–2012
	Highest degree completed	Four categories: Higher education (ISCED 5, 6) General secondary education (ISCED 3A, B, C long, 4) Vocational secondary education (ISCED 3A, B, C long, 4) Basic education (ref.) (ISCED 1, 2, 3C short)
	Field of education	Nine categories: General programmes* Teacher training and education science Humanities, languages and arts Social sciences, business and law Science, mathematics and computing Engineering, manufacturing and construction Agriculture and veterinary Health and welfare Services (ref.)
Occupation	Occupation type by skill demand	Four categories: Skilled occupations (ISCO 1–3) Semi-skilled white-collar occupations (ISCO 4–5) Semi-skilled blue-collar occupations (ISCO 6–8) Elementary occupations (ISCO 9) (ref.)
Gender		Two categories: Female Male (ref.)
Language background		Two categories: Test language same as native language Test language not same as native language (ref.)
Use of reading skills	Frequency of using reading skills at work	Continuous index
Use of ICT skills	Frequency of using ICT skills at home/outside work	Continuous index

Note: Participants who had a low-level education and who did not have information about the field of study were recoded as having received their education in general programmes. ISCED = International Standard Classification of Education.

Table 2. Weighted numbers of persons in the four nordic countries according to age and decade during which the highest qualification was completed.

	Decade during which the highest qualification was completed
Age at the time of data collection (years)	Degree 1960–1969	Degree 1970–1979	Degree 1980–1989	Degree 1990–1999	Degree 2000–2012	Total
25–34				685	3,456	4,140
35–44			901	2,287	1,351	4,539
45–54		994	2,094	862	668	4,619
55–65	1,540	2,010	654	400	242	4,846
Total	1,540	3,004	3,649	4,234	5,716	18,143

Table 3. The final model.

	Denmark			Finland			Norway			Sweden
Explanatory variables	b	se(b)	P	b	se(b)	P	b	se(b)	P	b	se(b)	P
Intercept	187.06	5.36	0.000	194.48	10.80	0.000	176.97	8.14	0.000	179.47	8.95	0.000
Age and decade during which highest degree was completed
Age 25–34 Completed 1990–1999	15.90	6.29	0.011	27.81	5.43	0.000	17.37	6.44	0.007	20.75	6.07	0.001
Age 25–34 Completed 2000 or later	24.54	3.78	0.000	38.42	4.15	0.000	28.02	5.18	0.000	24.17	4.57	0.000
Age 35–44 Completed 1980–1989	17.38	4.66	0.000	24.92	5.10	0.000	15.32	6.00	0.011	19.73	5.49	0.000
Age 35–44 Completed 1990–1999	25.03	3.58	0.000	29.62	4.27	0.000	24.15	4.95	0.000	20.46	4.40	0.000
Age 35–44 Completed 2000 or later	24.18	4.29	0.000	31.41	4.54	0.000	24.80	5.25	0.000	23.94	5.32	0.000
Age 45–54 Completed 1970–1979	6.39	4.43	0.149	16.35	5.02	0.001	15.64	5.95	0.009	9.31	4.46	0.037
Age 45–54 Completed 1980–1989	14.62	3.75	0.000	19.26	4.22	0.000	18.48	5.19	0.000	16.85	4.48	0.000
Age 45–54 Completed 1990–1999	19.73	4.34	0.000	22.89	4.61	0.000	16.67	5.24	0.001	14.26	5.31	0.007
Age 45–54 Completed 2000 or later	9.58	4.86	0.049	21.10	5.11	0.000	11.59	5.56	0.037	13.23	5.60	0.018
Age 55–65 Completed 1960–1969 (ref.)	0			0			0			0
Age 55–65 Completed 1970–1979	4.11	3.87	0.288	2.35	4.07	0.563	2.23	5.00	0.655	5.68	4.54	0.210
Age 55–65 Completed 1980–1989	5.63	4.47	0.208	7.14	4.85	0.141	5.31	5.84	0.363	5.27	4.89	0.281
Age 55–65 Completed 1990–1999	−1.17	5.48	0.831	1.90	5.57	0.732	−6.03	7.07	0.394	−7.33	7.64	0.338
Age 55–65 Completed 2000 or later	10.71	5.18	0.039	2.88	6.27	0.646	−0.41	8.17	0.960	0.60	7.16	0.933
Education
Higher education	23.87	3.05	0.000	32.89	7.46	0.000	21.06	3.27	0.000	35.52	4.51	0.000
General secondary education	20.95	3.46	0.000	29.15	4.86	0.000	12.08	3.51	0.001	20.50	3.26	0.000
Vocational secondary education	5.27	3.00	0.079	12.60	7.54	0.095	1.63	3.19	0.609	10.75	3.78	0.004
Basic education (ref.)	0			0			0			0
Field of study
General programmes	0.92	2.93	0.753	6.83	7.62	0.371	−4.45	4.89	0.363	9.98	5.56	0.073
Teacher training and education science	−9.39	2.64	0.000	−5.96	4.65	0.200	−5.45	5.10	0.285	2.20	5.06	0.663
Humanities, languages and arts	9.96	3.41	0.004	6.91	4.49	0.124	10.72	5.14	0.037	15.14	5.36	0.005
Social sciences, business and law	3.66	2.64	0.166	0.66	3.30	0.842	2.70	4.33	0.533	14.66	4.54	0.001
Science, mathematics and computing	6.95	3.39	0.041	14.68	4.64	0.002	9.66	5.91	0.102	17.31	6.32	0.006
Engineering, manufacturing and construction	−1.41	2.60	0.588	−1.87	3.00	0.533	−0.60	4.37	0.890	14.67	4.48	0.001
Agriculture and veterinary	−6.32	5.08	0.213	−3.08	4.94	0.533	1.10	8.38	0.895	15.52	6.88	0.024
Health and welfare	−2.28	2.84	0.423	−9.72	3.13	0.002	−7.59	4.38	0.083	4.76	5.24	0.364
Services (ref.)	0			0			0			0
Occupation
Skilled occupations	15.05	3.85	0.000	19.46	4.80	0.000	38.31	6.25	0.000	20.87	7.25	0.004
Semi-skilled white-collar occupations	8.03	3.76	0.033	10.64	4.75	0.025	25.78	6.29	0.000	14.45	6.95	0.037
Semi-skilled blue-collar occupations	3.06	4.12	0.459	8.38	4.73	0.076	23.40	6.30	0.000	7.65	7.02	0.275
Elementary occupations (ref.)	0			0			0			0
Gender
Female	−4.26	1.56	0.006	−0.60	1.99	0.764	−0.97	2.08	0.640	−2.15	2.16	0.319
Male (ref.)	0			0			0			0
Language background
Test language same as native language	35.72	2.30	0.000	30.95	6.02	0.000	35.62	2.97	0.000	38.79	3.10	0.000
Test language not same as native language (ref.)	0			0			0			0
Index of use of reading skills at work	2.53	0.91	0.005	1.44	1.18	0.223	2.03	1.32	0.123	0.83	1.44	0.563
Index of use of ICT skills at home	6.73	0.86	0.000	5.74	1.07	0.000	6.46	1.25	0.000	6.49	1.09	0.000
Adjusted R^2	0.319			0.329			0.365			0.363

Note: ICT = Information and Communication Technology, b = estimate of regression parameter, se(b) = standard error of regression parameter estimate b.

Figure 1a. Denmark: Unadjusted and adjusted associations of the combination of the age and the period during which the highest degree was completed with reading-literacy proficiency.

Figure 1b. Finland: Unadjusted and adjusted associations of the combination of the age and the period during which the highest degree was completed with reading-literacy proficiency.

Note: Adjusted associations are adjusted for education level, field of education, occupation, use of reading skills at work, use of ICT skills at home, gender, and language background.

Figure 1c. Norway: Unadjusted and adjusted associations of the combination of the age and the period during which the highest degree was completed with reading-literacy proficiency.

Note: Adjusted associations are adjusted for education level, field of education, occupation, use of reading skills at work, use of ICT skills at home, gender, and language background.

Figure 1d. Sweden: Unadjusted and adjusted associations of the combination of the age and the period during which the highest degree was completed with reading-literacy proficiency.

Note: Adjusted associations are adjusted for education level, field of education, occupation, use of reading skills at work, use of ICT skills at home, gender, and language background.

Table A1. Descriptive statistics of adults in Nordic countries by graduation period within age groups, based on a PIAAC sample.

Age (years)	25–34		35–44			45–54				55–65
Range of birth year	1977–1986		1967–1976			1957­–1966				1946­–1956
Period of completing education	1990–1999	2000–2012	1980–1989	1990–1999	2000–2012	1970–1979	1980–1989	1990–1999	2000–2012	1960–1969	1970–1979	1980–1989	1990–1999	2000–2012
Mean age	32	29	42	39	39	52	49	49	49	62	59	59	60	58
Length of basic education (years)*	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9
						FI 9/6	FI 9/6	FI 9/6	FI 9/6	DK 7 FI 6	DK 7 FI 6	DK 7 FI 6	DK 7 FI 6	DK 7 FI 6
Highest level of education** (%)
Low	38	7	38	8	3	55	11	5	6	58	17	7	12	12
Medium vocational	37	22	37	29	16	30	36	22	28	27	33	22	29	32
Medium general	17	12	15	13	3	9	11	4	3	6	9	6	7	6
High	4	54	6	45	73	4	36	64	57	6	38	62	47	47
Mean age when completing highest education	18	24	18	23	32	17	22	31	43	17	22	32	43	51
Occupation** (%)
Skilled	18	48	24	48	66	20	45	59	54	17	42	58	45	41
Semi-skilled white-collar	29	26	25	22	18	24	23	17	26	22	21	17	30	34
Semi-skilled blue-collar	29	14	32	18	8	33	19	11	9	25	18	8	7	9
Elementary	12	6	8	5	3	10	5	2	5	9	6	4	4	7
Proportion of females (%)	39	51	41	47	58	42	46	51	70	47	46	50	71	71
Proportion of native language speakers (%)	77	85	82	87	84	89	90	89	89	94	94	92	92	91
Mean of using reading skills at work	1.95	2.21	2.09	2.30	2.40	1.94	2.28	2.48	2.39	1.82	2.27	2.45	2.27	2.31
Mean of using ICT skills at home/outside work	2.02	2.36	1.73	2.15	2.32	1.63	1.95	2.18	2.18	1.48	1.87	2.09	1.89	2.00
Proportion of adults who have interrupted their studies for formal qualification (%)	37	25	26	26	28	21	21	26	24	13	19	23	24	24
Level of uncompleted qualification (%)
Low (Isced 0, 1, 2, 3c short)	10	4	16	6	3	13	9	7	6	19	5	6	10	16
Medium	69	51	59	48	36	64	49	38	45	61	47	30	45	39
High (Isced 5, 6,)	21	45	25	46	60	23	43	54	49	20	48	64	45	46
N	685	3,456	901	2,287	1,351	994	2,094	862	668	1,540	2,010	654	400	242

Note: FI = Finland, DK = Denmark, ISCED = International Standard Classification of Education, *based on Mellander and Anderssen (2015), **due to missing values some of the column sums may not add up to 100%.

Table A2. Parameter estimates with 95% confidence intervals for the combined variables of age and decade during which the highest qualification was completed in the final model.

Denmark	Decade during which highest qualification was completed
	Degree 1960–1969		Degree 1970–1979		Degree 1980–1989		Degree 1990–1999		Degree 2000–2012
Age (years)	Estimate	95%CI	Estimate	95%CI	Estimate	95%CI	Estimate	95%CI	Estimate	95%CI
25–34							15.9	(3.6, 28.2)	24.5	(17.1, 32.0)
35–44					17.4	(8.2, 26.5)	25.0	(18.0, 32.0)	24.2	(15.8, 32.6)
45–54			6.4	(−2.3,15.1)	14.6	(7.3, 22.0)	19.7	(11.2, 28.2)	9.6	(0.0, 19.1)
55–65	0.0		4.1	(−3.5, 11.7)	5.6	(−3.1, 14.4)	−1.2	(−11.9, 9.6)	10.7	(0.6, 20.9)
Finland	Decade during which highest qualification was completed
	Degree 1960–1969		Degree 1970–1979		Degree 1980–1989		Degree 1990–1999		Degree 2000–2012
Age	Estimate	95%CI	Estimate	95%CI	Estimate	95%CI	Estimate	95%CI	Estimate	95%CI
25–34							27.8	(17.2, 38.5)	38.4	(30.3, 46.6)
35–44					24.9	(14.9, 34.9)	29.6	(21.3, 38.0)	31.4	(22.5, 40.3)
45–54			16.3	(6.5, 26.2)	19.3	(11.0, 27.5)	22.9	(13.9, 31.9)	21.1	(11.1, 31.1)
55–65	0.0		2.4	(−5.6, 10.3)	7.1	(−2.4, 16.7)	1.9	(−9.0, 12.8)	2.9	(−9.4, 15.2)
Norway	Decade during which highest qualification was completed
	Degree 1960–1969		Degree 1970–1979		Degree 1980–1989		Degree 1990–1999		Degree 2000–2012
Age	Estimate	95%CI	Estimate	95%CI	Estimate	95%CI	Estimate	95%CI	Estimate	95%CI
25–34							17.4	(4.7, 30.0)	28.0	(17.9, 38.2)
35–44					15.3	(3.6, 27.1)	24.2	(14.5, 33.8)	24.8	(14.5, 35.1)
45–54			15.6	(4.0, 27.3)	18.5	(8.3, 28.7)	16.7	(6.4, 26.9)	11.6	(0.7, 22.5)
55–65	0		2.2	(−7.6, 12.0)	5.3	(−6.1, 16.8)	−6.0	(−19.9, 7.8)	−0.4	(−16.4, 15.6)
Sweden	Decade during which highest qualification was completed
	Degree 1960–1969		Degree 1970–1979		Degree 1980–1989		Degree 1990–1999		Degree 2000–2012
Age	Estimate	95%CI	Estimate	95%CI	Estimate	95%CI	Estimate	95%CI	Estimate	95%CI
25–34							20.7	(8.9, 32.6)	24.2	(15.2, 33.1)
35–44					19.7	(9.0, 30.5)	20.5	(11.8, 29.1)	23.9	(13.5, 34.4)
45–54			9.3	(0.6, 18.1)	16.9	(8.1, 25.6)	14.3	(3.9, 24.7)	13.2	(2.3, 24.2)
55–65	0.0		5.7	(−3.2, 14.6)	5.3	(−4.3, 14.9)	−7.3	(−22.3, 7.7)	0.6	(−13.4, 14.6)

Mellander, E., & Anderssen, A. F. (2015). An overview of the characteristics of the Nordic region. In T. Fridberg, A. Rosdahl, V. Halapuu, A. Valk, A. Malin, R. Hämäläinen, A. F. Anderssen … E. Mellander (Eds.), Adult skills in the Nordic region: Key information-processing skills among adults in the Nordic region (pp. 39–52). TemaNord 2015: 535. Copenhagen: Nordic Council of Ministers.

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