If you’ve ever gotten the impression that most people aren’t as skilled with computers as you are, you finally have some data to back it up. The above chart shows the distribution of tech skills, and there’s a pretty narrow pool at the top almost everywhere.

This chart comes from a study by the international Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development group. The OECD conducted a study of 215,942 people across 33 countries from 2011-2015. The study tested the skills of people aged 16-65 to measure their literacy in job-related tech skills. Tests ranged from simple tasks like deleting an email (considered “below level 1”), up to figuring out things like “what percentage of the emails sent by John Smith last month were about sustainability?” (considered level 3). Participants were then graded based on the tasks they were able to complete.

The results aren’t terribly surprising if you’ve ever worked a help desk. Around 5% of the U.S. population ranks at level 3, the strongest level of computer literacy. Another 26% ranks at level 2, where users can do things like “find a sustainability-related document that was sent to you by John Smith in October last year.” Those who ranked in level 2 likely aren’t developers or engineers, but they get by.

However, for the 69% of the population below level 2, complex skills are still hard to come by. 26% of people weren’t even able to use computers. The full report at the source link below shows how these numbers break down over age ranges. Regardless, the numbers give some perspective on how skilled the overall population is.

If you’re the type who’s highly skilled with technology (and if you read this site, there’s a higher-than-usual chance you are), then it’s safe to assume not everyone shares your skills. Some people may not even have to. The average office worker may not need to mess around with command lines or complex spreadsheet functions as long as they can find their email. Rather than expecting everyone to know what you know intuitively, it might be better to be patient as you design things for them to use or walk them through learning a new skill.

OECD Skills Studies via Nielsen Norman Group

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