The actual number of interviews conducted in each country depends on the sampling design and the number of languages the survey is conducted in. Below, you find key information about the data collection in the Nordic and Baltic countries.
| Country | Data collection period | Sample size | Reserve sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | 01.09.2022 – 30.04.2023 | 10 000 main sample | 40 x 100 individuals |
| 3 700 sample of immigrants
5 924 sample of PISA2009-participants |
20×50 immigrants | ||
| Estonia | 12.09.2022 – 30.04.2023 | 13 000 | 3 000 |
| Finland | 01.09.2022 – 31.01.2023 |
8 400 | 2 000 |
| Norway | 01.09 2022 – 30.04.2023 | 7 800 | 3900 |
| Sweden | 28.09 2022 – 28.04.2023 | 10 000 | 2 000 |
| Latvia | 01.11.2022 – 30.04.2023 |
18 420 (screnner country) | 50% (9 210) |
Background questions and direct assessments
The PIAAC survey consists of two parts. First, an interviewer asks the respondents questions, for example about their connection to the labour market or about participation in education and training. After this background questionnaire, the respondents complete exercises. In the beginning of this part, there are 16 exercises measuring basic skills in numeracy and literacy. The results in these initial exercises determine the continuation of the direct assessment. Respondents who do not pass the initial exercises, go on with a component test which aims at giving more detailed information about the level of basic skills in numeracy and literacy. The other respondents continue with tasks in two of the three domains of literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem solving.
Skills in PIAAC are measured on a scale from 0 to 500. The OECD has divided the scale for literacy and numeracy into six levels (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5).
All data collection happens using a tablet. Below, you find an illustration of the design of the survey.
A report with international results from PIAAC will be released in December 2024. The Nordic and Baltic countries also plan to release national reports on PIAAC, as well as they plan to release thematic reports promoting the effectiveness of labour market and educational policies in the Nordic and Baltic countries.
Data available for research purposes
After the release of PIAAC results, data will be available for research purposes and it is also possible to match data from the PIAAC survey to selected registers. This gives researchers the possibility to do longitudinal follow-ups of the PIAAC-participants. Research studies could for example aim at analysing labour market outcomes including connection to the labour market, NEET status and labour market income 1-10 years after PIAAC was conducted, for persons with different levels of skills (low, medium and high) in PIAAC 2011/2012 or PIAAC 2022/2023, taking educational attainment, age and other background factors into account. Register data in the Nordic and Baltic countries contain annual information of high quality on labour market including economic activity, occupation and labour force status, education including educational attainment, participation in formal education and level and field of most recent education and income including labour market income, disposable income and social insurance benefits.
You can see examples of previous research here.
Field test conducted in 2021
In 2021, a field test was conducted in each of the 33 participating countries. The aim of the field test was to test the technical infrastructure, cognitive items and the background questionnaire.
Read more about the conduction of the FT in the Nordic and Baltic countries here.
