Level 1 indicates persons with very poor skills, where the individual may, for example, be unable to determine the correct amount of medicine to give a child from information printed on the package.

Level 2 respondents can deal only with material that is simple, clearly laid out, and in which the tasks involved are not too complex. It denotes a weak level of skill, but more hidden than Level 1. It identifies people who can read, but test poorly. They may have developed coping skills to manage everyday literacy demands, but their low level of proficiency makes it difficult for them to face novel demands, such as learning new job skills.

Level 3 is considered a suitable minimum for coping with demands of everyday life and work in a complex, advanced society. It denotes roughly the skill level required for successful secondary school completion and college entry. Like higher levels, it requires the ability to integrate several sources of information and solve more complex problems.

Levels 4 and 5 describe respondents who demonstrate command of higher-order information processing skills.

Some of the findings:

• In Canada, 42 per cent of all adults aged 16 to 65 are at levels 1 or 2 on the prose literacy scale, while 43 per cent are at levels 1 or 2 on the document and quantitative scales. These individuals have literacy skills below what is considered a suitable minimum for coping with demands of everyday life and work in a complex, advanced society. But even in Sweden, where average literacy scores are high, 28 per cent of all adults aged 16 to 65 are at levels 1 or 2 on the prose scale.
• 23 per cent of Canadian adults are at level 4/5 on the prose literacy scale. Sweden is the only IALS country with a larger proportion of adults at this level, at 32 per cent.
• Of the countries included in the IALS, Sweden has the highest average scores on all three scales (from 301 to 306 points) while Chile has the lowest average scores (from 209 to 221 points).
• On the prose literacy scale, Canada ranks 5th (at 279 points) behind Sweden, Finland, Norway and the Netherlands. The United States and the United Kingdom rank 10th and 13th respectively.
• On the document literacy scale, Canada ranks 8th (at 279 points) behind the Nordic countries, Denmark, Germany and the Czech Republic. Australia ranks 11th on that scale while the United States and United Kingdom are further down the list ranking 15th and 16th respectively.
• On the quantitative literacy scale, Canada ranks 9th (at 281 points), again below the countries of Northern European and the Czech Republic. Australia and the United States rank 12th and 13th respectively, while the United Kingdom ranks 17th.
• Overall, Canada ranks amongst the top countries on the prose scale but is in the middle of the pack on the quantitative (numeracy) scale.

The distribution of literacy skills within countries also varies considerably (see Figure 1). Comparing the range of scores between persons at the 5th percentile (those with low literacy skills) with persons at the 95th percentile (those with high literacy skills) provides a measure of the discrepancy in skills within a country. In many European countries, this discrepancy is relatively small. For example, in Denmark the range of scores between the 5th and 95th percentiles on the prose scale is 120 points. In the United States, the range of scores between these percentiles is almost twice as large, at 231 points.