A recent report stated that the cost of adult low numeracy ‘can be counted in lost earnings — the £25 billion…would be added to our collective pay packets if numeracy skills could be levelled up’. That is about £1700 per person per annum.,,
A large-scale study of adults with colorectal cancer in the UK and US found that those with low numeracy were less likely to intend to participate in screening and were more likely to be defensive in getting cancer information, and hence more likely to be untreated or treated too late…
In 2009, it was calculated that the cost of the lowest 6 per cent of numeracy to England is about £2.4 billion a year in lost taxes due to lower earnings, higher rates of unemployment, and increased costs of crime, social security, education and health.
Brian Butterworth, Can Fish Count? What Animals Reveal About Our Uniquely Mathematical Minds