[zhte415]

> on the other hand, in these countries children in the 5th grade can't properly read a newspaper because they need to already know 2000 characters

A child exiting reception grade in China, i.e. entering Grade 1, is expected to know 1000-1500 characters. They certainly don't know all combinations of characters these words form, but the learning starts young.

[Symbiote]

It's more useful if you say the child's age, since I'm not sure which country "grade 1" refers to. If it's the USA, I'm not sure how old that is either.

[zhte415]

From 6-8 years old. Parents in China can 'speed up' or 'slow down' their child's education by putting them in school early or late.