Table B.1 gives, for each country, information about the test language(s) used, the size of the target population and the number of survey respondents.
| Country | Test language | Population aged 16-65 | Survey respondents aged 16-65 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | English | 11,900,000 | 8,204 |
| Belgium (Flanders) | Dutch | 4,500,000 | 2,261 |
| Canada | English French |
13,700,000 4,800,000 |
3 ,130 1,370 |
| Chile | Spanish | 9,400,000 | 3,502 |
| Czech Republic | Czech | 7,100,000 | 3,132 |
| Denmark | Danish | 3,400,000 | 3,026 |
| Finland | Finnish | 3,200,000 | 2,928 |
| Germany | German | 53,800,000 | 2,062 |
| Hungary | Hungarian | 7,000,000 | 2,593 |
| Ireland | English | 2,200,000 | 2,423 |
| Italy | Italian | 38,700,000 | 2,974 |
| Netherlands | Dutch | 10,500,000 | 2,837 |
| New Zealand | English | 2,100,000 | 4,223 |
| Norway | Bokmâl | 2,800,000 | 3,000 |
| Poland | Polish | 24,500,000 | 3,307 |
| Portugal | Portuguese | 6,700,000 | 1,239 |
| Slovenia | Slovenian | 1,400,000 | 2,972 |
| Sweden | Swedish | 5,400,000 | 2,645 |
| Switzerland | French German Italian |
1,000,000 3,000,000 200,000 |
1,435 1,393 1,302 |
| United Kingdom | English | 37,000,000 | 6,718 |
| United States | English | 161,100,000 | 3,053 |
* Four indicators in Chapter 1 employ 1992 NALS data for the U.S. These estimates are based on 4,853 survey respondents aged 16-25.
Once the background questionnaire had been completed, the interviewer presented a booklet containing six simple tasks. Respondents who were able to answer at least two of the six questions contained in the screener test designed to identify very low-literate individuals correctly were given a much larger variety of tasks, drawn from a pool of 114 items, in a separate booklet. Each booklet contained about 45 items. These tests were not timed and respondents were urged to try each exercise in their booklet. Respondents were given maximum leeway to demonstrate their skill levels, even if their measured skills were minimal.
The definition of an IALS respondent is a person who has fully or partially completed the background questionnaire. With this information, as well as the reason why the tasks booklet was not completed, it was possible to impute a literacy profile (given a sufficient number of complete responses). Thus the IALS procedures stressed that at a minimum the background questionnaire should be completed by every person sampled.