Bangkok has some excellent bookstores and libraries but nevertheless cannot escape the global trend of fewer young people visiting libraries and reading books. According to The Nation, Thai children read only 5 books per year, compared with Malaysia (40), Singapore (45) and Vietnam (60).
It would be interesting to know whether these figures exclude graphic novels and comic books that are very popular with many Thai teenagers and young adults.
I thought it would be interesting to see how adult literacy in Thailand compares with that of neighbouring countries. The results were surprisingly good.
UNICEF statistics suggest that adult literacy in Thailand is as good or better than nearby countries but this is a crude measure of “persons aged 15 and over who can read and write”. It does not take into account attainment levels and nor does it mention fluency in a second language.
| Country | Literacy % |
|---|---|
| Thailand | 94 |
| Vietnam | 93 |
| Malaysia | 92 |
| Burma (Myanmar) | 92 |
| Cambodia | 78 |
| Laos | 73 |
More UNICEF data can be found here:
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/eastasia.html