The United States' levels were as follows: 46.6% in the prose category, 49.6 in the document category and 46.3% in the quantitative category. To repeat, for the purposes of this dissertation, these percentages reflect the percentage of the population the author terms "illiterate."

The results for Canada were as follows: 42.2% in the prose category, 42.9% in the document category and 33.3% in the quantitative category (Literacy, Economy...1995).

The report "IALS - A New Brunswick Snapshot" (1998) provides findings of the province alone as gathered in the IALS project. The report also says that reading practices in New Brunswick are typically weaker than in the rest of Canada, except at the highest level of literacy.

The combined findings of levels 1 and 2 for the province of New Brunswick are as follows: 59% in the prose category, 59% in the document category and 59% in the quantitative category.

Jean J.R. Pignal, one of the Canadian co-ordinators of the International Adult Literacy Survey, also the author of "IALS - A New Brunswick Snapshot", provided, at the author's request, specific statistics for the demographic of the case presented in this dissertation. These statistics about women in the province of New Brunswick aged 50-69, were gathered as part of the IALS.

The combined results for levels 1 and 2 for women in the province of New Brunswick aged 50-69 are as follows: 75.1 % in the document category, 69.7% in the prose category and 76.8% in the quantitative category. Mr. Pignal cautions that there are high levels of error associated with these statistics (1997).

There can be no doubting that internationally, in Canada, in the province of New Brunswick and in the target population of this dissertation's case, the level of illiteracy is significant.

These statistics provide the background for the exploration of the communications issue of communicating to illiterate populations.