Portugal Fighting Illiteracy, "A Very Heavy Legacy of the Estado Novo"

(Photo from Education at a Glance 2025: Portugal (September 9), Organization for Co-operation and Development (OECD)

---

One-fourth of Portuguese second-year students read a maximum of 51 words correctly per minute compared to an adequate international benchmark of 70 to 130 words, presenting increased risks of future reading comprehension difficulties.

In a national survey of more than 90,000 public and private school students, the results show that students had an average palavras lidas corretamente num minuto (PLCM) (words read correctly in a minute) of 75, according to the 39-page Diagnóstico da Fluência Leitora -- 2005 Relatório Nacional (National Report on Diagnosis of Reading Fluency) (Novembro 2025).

However, analysis of the distribution of the total number of students who took the diagnostic test revealed a normal curve with greater concentration in the range of 50 to 100 words read correctly in a minute.

Language barriers may be responsible for the greater inequities in reading among second-year students, according to the report. A total of 11.6 percent of the students were foreign, some of whom would have Portuguese as their native tongue.

However, upon reaching higher proficiency levels, the differences in relation to native speakers become smaller.

Separate Survey of Adults

In a second and separate survey, it was found that almost half (46 percent) of adults, aged 25 to 64, can understand only very short texts with minimal distracting information, above the OECD average of 27 percent, according to Education at a Glance 2025: Portugal (September 9), Organization for Co-operation and Development (OECD).

A Publisher's Response

These two reports set off alarm bells for Ana Rita Bessa, CEO of the publishing house LeYa, and a former member of the Assembleia da República (2015-2021).

"Reading is more than an academic skill -- it is the foundation of learning. It is instrumental in making oneself understood and understanding others, and it is a condition for informed, critical and, therefore, full participation in society," said Ana Rita Bessa, in an Expresso (December 4) opinion piece.

"Countries which invest in stable and consistent policies to promote reading from childhood show higher literacy rates and greater potential for social mobility."

Estado Novo, 2021 Census

So true. For the nearly 50 years of the Estado Novo, the authoritarian state which ended in 1974, literacy was not on the agenda.

In 1946, Portugal’s literacy rate was officially 50 percent, one of the lowest in Western countries, but was probably much lower since those who could barely sign their names were counted as literate, reported Time magazine (July 22, 1946).

The 2021 Census data reported that 538,000 out of the population of 10.3 million had not completed the first cycle of education, which is Year 1 through Year 4. The vast majority were elderly, according to Expresso (December 18, 2021).

“It is the result of a very heavy legacy left by the Estado Novo, which will take decades to overcome. It’s a big black spot that shames us,” said demographer Maria João Valente Rosa.

However, a total of 21.3 percent had secondary or post-secondary education compared to 11.8 percent in 2011, according to SIC Noticias (December 16, 2021).

Indeed, the nearly 10 percent increase in secondary and post-secondary education is impressive. Yet, publisher Ana Rita Bessa called for the inculcation of reading as a habit.

"To put it clearly: if we don't act early, the reading difficulties seen in second-year students become entrenched and transform into limitations in adulthood, affecting both individuals and the community, reflecting on the society we co-build and share. Portugal should not ignore this evidence."

What to do?

"It seems urgent to revitalize a reading strategy which involves schools, families, local authorities, the publishing sector and authors. Campaigns to encourage reading and the purchase of books, valuing school libraries and reassessing mandatory readings in the school curriculum are sure steps."

Ana Rita Bessa laid out a blueprint.

"The family certainly plays a crucial role: reading to children, creating moments of shared reading, showing that books are allies and not obligations.

"However, according to a survey by the Portuguese Association of Publishers and Booksellers (APEL), two-thirds of Portuguese people who identify as non-readers and who have children or grandchildren do not have the habit of reading with them, perpetuating the cycle of low literacy."

Threatened Newspaper Delivery to Rural Areas

The practice of reading a newspaper belongs to an older generation. It is often the child's grandparent who reads the paper at home, a grandparent who serves as a model. Without this image, children would be more likely not to consider reading newspapers online and more likely to accept fake news as truth.

Due to recent increased cost, the delivery of newspapers is under threat in eight districts: Beja, Èvora, Portalegre, Castelo Branco, Guarda, Viseu, Vila Real and Bragança, reported Expresso (December 4).

A Bola, Correio da Manhã, Expresso and other newspapers (December 12) published a joint text, a rare united stance, signed by 13 directors of national print media publications with the headline, "In defense of the press, a warning to democracy". The text read, in part:

"For many Portuguese people of all ages, reading the newspaper, whether it's the daily paper or the weekly, whether it's the sports section or a magazine, is the only time they come into contact with the written Portuguese language.

"Additionally, the end of print media would further increase the danger of misinformation and fake news, which is rampant on social media.

"For many of our publications, the primary way to ensure regular contact with the public is, even today, to print them in Spanish companies. This comes with all the inherent difficulties and constraints, in addition to the damage to the national economy."

VASP, the sole distributor in Portugal, assured that "no definitive decision has yet been made, and this evaluation is ongoing with the aim of finding alternatives which minimize the impact on publishers, points of sale and the population", Expresso (December 4).

Ensuring that the entire population can buy a newspaper or magazine at a point of sale became one of the objectives of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's first administration, included in the Action Plan for Social Communication, announced in October 2024, reported Expresso (June 3).

The government has not moved forward with the plan, reported Expresso (December 4).

VASP stated that it is "committed to universal access to information, understanding it as an essential pillar of territorial cohesion, equal opportunities, and the full exercise of democratic citizenship. Restricting this access unfairly penalizes populations in low-density areas and deepens regional inequities."

Need for Grandparent's Stories

One might also suggest an attempt an greater integration of school into family life by inviting relatives to tell their stories to students, who then write them down in the form of poems or prose.

These stories, especially in rural villages, are dying with loved ones.

A 7-year-old child's grandmother and grandfather, for example, could talk about how they helped in the olive harvest at the same age as their grandchild. This kind of familial involvement would denote respect between school and home as well as in themselves, making education more relevant to everyone.

Telling and writing these stories of the countryside would enrich both those in the country and the city.

School Libraries

Ana Rita Bessa stressed the importance of school libraries.

"The complementarity between school and family is crucial. And this is where school libraries come in, as active centers for promoting reading, where clubs, debates, writing workshops, digital projects are organized, and various literacies are taught.

"The teacher-librarian, who complements the curricular work, creates opportunities to discover literary genres and authors, and transforms reading into an experience of pleasure and discovery. When libraries are well-managed, the results are visible: more readers, more curiosity, greater academic success."

Assessing Reading of Young Students

"Assessing reading fluency in an early stage of reading learning development is essential for the early identification of students who may be at risk of developing reading comprehension problems later on," according to Diagnóstico da Fluência Leitora -- 2005 Relatório Nacional (National Report on Diagnosis of Reading Fluency) (Novembro 2025).

"Existing research shows that students with low levels of reading fluency often experience ongoing learning and performance difficulties unless specific interventions are implemented (Hudson, Lane & Pullen 2005)."