There is a more nuanced view in the full Wikipedia page on the topic [0]. The CIA World Factbook number quoted is only for those who have had over 5 years of ed

There is a more nuanced view in the full Wikipedia page on the topic [0]. The CIA World Factbook number quoted is only for those who have had over 5 years of education (which is hopefully almost everybody) and they probably have a fairly low bar for determining literacy (I would bet nothing more than a questionnaire response). Other studies have indicated a much lower literacy rate, right about the 75% level, depending on how strict you want to be about things like vocabulary and comprehension. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_in_the_United_States