The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) carried out in 1994, defined literacy as –

The ability of adults to use written information to function in society, to achieve their goals, and to develop their knowledge and potential.

These and other definitions consider literacy in the context of the need to communicate and function in one's personal, social, community and work environment. They suggest that the attainment of literacy skills is dependent on one's personal goals, aspirations and potential and therefore, differs from individual to individual. Other definitions are found in Appendix 3.



4. Literacy Profile

4.1 Canada and the International Adult Literacy Survey

  • In June 2000, Statistics Canada and the Organization for Economic Co–operation and Development (OECD) released the final report from the groundbreaking 1994 International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS). The first international survey of its kind, IALS provides a comparison of literacy levels across nations, languages and cultures. Canada and 19 other countries participated in the survey.
  • IALS identified and measured three types of literacy:
    • Prose Literacy – the ability to understand and use information from texts such as news stories or fiction;
    • Document Literacy – the ability to find and use information from documents such as maps or tables; and
    • Quantitative Literacy – the ability to make calculations with numbers imbedded in text, as in balancing a chequebook.

Canadians' Literacy Levels

IALS measured proficiency at five different levels within each literacy type. Here is how Canadians, ages 16 and older, measured up in prose literacy:

  • 22% of Canadians were at level 1. These people have difficulty reading and have few basic skills or strategies for decoding and working with text. Generally, they are aware that they have a literacy problem.
  • 26% of Canadians were at level 2. These are people with limited skills who read but do not read well. Canadians at this level can deal only with material that is simple and clearly laid out. People at this level often do not recognize their limitations.