Summary Europeans And Their Languages
Special Eurobarometer
European
Commission
Europeans and their
Languages
Fieldwork: November – December 2005
Publication: February 2006
Summary
TNS Opinion & Social
obarometer 243 / Wave 64.3 –
This survey was requested by Directorate General for Education and Culture and
coordinated by Directorate General Press and Communication
This document does not represent the point of view of the European Commission.
Special Eur
The interpretations and opinions contained in it are solely those of the authors.
Special EUROBAROMETER 243 “EUROPEANS AND THEIR LANGUAGES” SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
Today the European Union is home to 450 million people from diverse ethnic,
cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The linguistic patterns of European countries
are complex - shaped by history, geographical factors and the mobility of people. At
present, the European Union recognises 20 official languages1 and about 60 other
indigenous and non-indigenous languages are spoken over the geographical area.
The term multilingualism refers both to a situation in which several languages are
spoken within a certain geographical area and to the ability of a person to master
multiple languages. As such, multilingualism is a key feature of Europe in both its
senses.
The benefits of knowing foreign languages are unquestionable. Language is the
path to understanding other ways of living which in turn opens up the space for
intercultural tolerance. Furthermore, language skills facilitate working, studying and
travelling across Europe and allow intercultural communication.
The European Union is a truly multilingual institution that fosters the ideal of a
single Community with a diversity of cultures and languages. To guarantee this the
European Commission adopted in November 20052 the first Commission
Communication that explores the area of multilingualism.
The three core aims of the Commission’s multilingualism policy are to encourage
language learning, to promote a healthy multilingual economy and to give all EU
citizens access to the Union’s legislation, procedures and information in their own
language.
Between 5 November and 7 December, 28 694 citizens3 in the 25 EU countries as well
as in Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Turkey were asked about their experiences and
perceptions of multilingualism as part of the wave 64.3 of the Eurobarometer.
In this summary, the analysis focuses on three themes as determining factors
in a multilingual society:
• The long-term objective for all EU citizens to speak two languages in addition to
their mother tongue4
• Lifelong language learning starting from a very early age5
• The importance of education
1 The official languages of the European Union are Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, English, Finnish, French,
German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovene,
Spanish and Swedish. Irish will become the 21st official language on 1 January 2007. After the accession of
Bulgaria and Romania the Union will operate in 23 official languages.
2 COM(2005)596: A New Framework Strategy for Multilingualism
http://europa.eu.int/languages/en/document/74
3 In each country, the survey covers the population with a minimum age of 15 and having citizenship of one
of the Member States. In the acceding and candidate countries, the survey covers nationals of those
countries as well as citizens of the EU Member States resident in those countries who have a sufficient
command of one of the respective national language(s) to answer the questionnaire.
4 COM(2003)449: Promoting Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity: an Action Plan 2004-2006
http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/doc/official/keydoc/actlang/act_lang_en.pdf
5 Conclusions of the Barcelona European Council in March 2002:
http://ue.eu.int/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/ec/71025.pdf
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Special EUROBAROMETER 243 “EUROPEANS AND THEIR LANGUAGES” SUMMARY
THE STARTING POINT
Today, the European Union is multilingual in a dual sense: numerous native
languages are spoken within the geographical area and a reasonable share of citizens
has skills in several languages. Nevertheless, language skills are not equally spread
over Europe and its citizens appear to need encouragement to learn foreign languages.
D48a What is your mother tongue?
MOTHER TONGUE - % MENTIONS (SPONTANEOUS-MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE)6
State Language(s), official languages that have an official
Other official EU
status in the EU7
languages8
Other Languages9
BE
Dutch 56%, French 38%, German 0.4 %
5%
3%
CZ
98%
2%
0.7%
DK
97%
2%
2%
DE
90%
3%
8%
EE
82%
1%
18%
EL
99%
0.2%
0.7%
ES
Spanish 89%, Catalan10 9%, Galician11 5%, Basque12 1%
1%
2%
FR
93%
6%
3%
IE
English 94%, Irish 11%
2%
0.2%
IT
95%
5%
1%
CY
98%
2%
1%
LV
73%
1%
27%
LT
88%
5%
7%
LU
Luxembourgish 77%, French 6%, German 4%
14%
0.8%
HU
100%
0.8%
0.6%
MT
97% Maltese, 2% English
0.6%
-
NL
96%
3%
3%
AT
96%
3%
2%
PL
98%
1%
1%
PT
100%
0.6%
0.1%
SI
95%
1%
5%
SK
88%
12%
2%
FI
Finnish 94%, Swedish 5%
0.8%
0.4%
SE
95%
5%
2%
UK
92%
3%
5%
BG
90%
0.4%
11%
HR
98%
1%
0.8%
RO
95%
6%
0.7%
TR
93%
0.5%
7%
6 The question allows for multiple answers i.e. the respondents may name several languages as their mother
tongue. Also the “don’t know” option is possible. Thus, the percentages of languages spoken in a country
may add up to more or less than 100%. Answers are given spontaneously and coded in a ready-made list.
7 State languages have an official status throughout a country. Official languages have an official status
within a certain region in a country or over the whole state. Regional languages that have an official status in
the EU are Catalan, Galician and Basque.
8 The category “Other official EU languages” includes the official EU languages that are spoken in a country
where they are not state languages.
9 The category “Other languages” includes non-indigenous languages and regional/minority languages that
do not have EU official status.
10 Catalan is protected by the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia (4/1979), which states that Catalan and
Castilian are the official languages in Catalonia. The Law 7/1983 on Language Standardization in Catalonia
was replaced by the Act on Linguistic Policy (Act No 1, 7 January 1998).
11 Galician is protected by the Galician Autonomy Statute (1982), which specifies that both Galician and
Castilian are the official languages. The Galician Linguistic Standardization Act (1983) promotes Galician in
all domains of society.
12 Basque is protected by The Statute of Autonomy of Basque Country (1979), which states that that both
Basque and Castilian (Spanish) are official languages in the Basque Country.
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Special EUROBAROMETER 243 “EUROPEANS AND THEIR LANGUAGES” SUMMARY
Not surprisingly, the mother tongue of the majority of Europeans is one of the state
languages of their country. 100% of Hungarians and the Portuguese name their
respective state languages as their native language.
Notwithstanding, a minority speaking either an official EU language other than the
state language or a non-European language as their mother tongue is recorded in
every country polled.
14% of respondents in Luxembourg state that they speak another EU language than
one of the three state languages. This can be attributed to a substantial Portuguese
minority residing in the country (mother tongue of 9%) and the presence of
international institutions there. In the case of Slovakia, 10% of respondents speak
Hungarian as their mother tongue13.
When it comes to non-EU languages, in Latvia and Estonia a significant share of
citizens speak Russian as their mother tongue (26% and 17% respectively), which is
understandable for historical and geographical reasons. This effect is also detected in
the candidate country Bulgaria, where 8% of respondents name Turkish as their
mother tongue.
Finally, for some EU citizens their mother tongue is the language of their country of
origin outside the EU. This is observed in countries with traditionally large immigrant
populations such as Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
56% of citizens in the EU Member States are able to hold a conversation in
one language apart from their mother tongue. This is 9 points more than was
perceived in 2001 among the 15 Member States at the time14. 99% of Luxembourgish,
97% of Slovaks and 95% of Latvians indicate that they know at least one foreign
language.
D48b-d Which languages do you speak well enough
in order to be able to have a conversation excluding
your mother tongue?
At least one language
56%
At least two languages
28%
At least three languages
11%
None
44%
0%
60%
With respect to the goal for every EU citizen to have knowledge of two languages in
addition to their mother tongue, 28% of the respondents state that they speak
two foreign languages well enough to have a conversation. This is especially the
case in Luxembourg (92%), the Netherlands (75%) and Slovenia (71%). 11% of the
respondents indicate that they master at least three languages apart from their mother
tongue.
13 The Law on Minority Languages was adopted in Slovakia on July 10, 1999. It allows the use of minority
languages in public administration at a local level, where at least 20% of the community belong to a minority
group.
14 Standard EB 55.1 in http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/archives/eb/eb55/eb55_en.pdf
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Special EUROBAROMETER 243 “EUROPEANS AND THEIR LANGUAGES” SUMMARY
Still, almost half of the respondents, 44%, admit not knowing any other
language than their mother tongue. In six Member States, the majority of citizens
belong to this group, the countries being Ireland (66%), the United Kingdom (62%),
Italy (59%), Hungary (58%), Portugal (58%) and Spain (56%).
English remains the most widely spoken foreign language throughout Europe.
38% of EU citizens state that they have sufficient skills in English to have a
conversation. In 19 out of 29 countries polled, English is the most widely known
language apart from the mother tongue, this being particularly the case in Sweden
(89%), Malta (88%) and the Netherlands (87%).
14% of Europeans indicate that they know either French or German along
with their mother tongue. French is the most spoken foreign language in the United
Kingdom (23%) and Ireland (20%) whereas citizens of the Czech Republic (28%) and
Hungary (25%) are the most likely to be proficient in German. Spanish and Russian
complete the group of the five most widely known languages apart from the
mother tongue, with a 6% share of European citizens knowing each of them.
In conclusion, the state languages of the most populous Member States are,
unsurprisingly, the widest spread native languages within the EU, German being the
most widely spoken mother tongue (18%). When these results are combined with the
skills in foreign languages, it can be perceived that English is clearly the most
commonly used language in the EU with over a half of the respondents (51%)
speaking it either as their mother tongue or as a foreign language.
Languages most commonly used in the EU - %
Mother tongue
Foreign language
TOTAL
English
13%
38%
51%
German
18%
14%
32%
French
12%
14%
26%
Italian
13%
3%
16%
Spanish
9%
6%
15%
Polish
9%
1%
10%
Russian
6%
7%
At the same time, it is worth pointing out that language skills are unevenly
distributed both over the geographical area of Europe and over socio-
demographic groups.
Reasonably good language competences are perceived in relatively small Member
States with several state languages, lesser used native languages or “language
exchange” with neighbouring countries. This is the case for example in Luxembourg
where 92% speak at least two languages. Those who live in Southern European
countries or countries where one of the major European languages is a state language
appear to have moderate language skills. Only 5% of Turkish, 13% of Irish and 16%
Italians master at least two languages apart from their mother tongue.
A “multilingual” European is likely to be young, well-educated or still studying, born
in a country other than the country of residence, who uses foreign languages for
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Special EUROBAROMETER 243 “EUROPEANS AND THEIR LANGUAGES” SUMMARY
professional reasons and is motivated to learn. Consequently, it seems that a large
part of European society is not enjoying the advantages of multilingualism.
Finally, the level of motivation of EU citizens to learn languages is moderate.
During the last two years, 18% of EU citizens report learning or improving their foreign
language skills and 21% indicate that they have the intention to do so over the coming
year. Based on these results, approximately 1 in 5 Europeans can be described
as an active language learner15 who has recently improved his/her language skills
or intends to do so over the following 12 months.
Only 12% of the respondents have improved their language skills in the past and also
intend to do so in the coming year, thereby earning the status of very active language
learner.
The three factors mentioned the most often for discouraging language
learning are: lack of time (34%), motivation (30%), and expense of language
classes (22%). The perceived incentives that would improve language skills reflect
these findings: free language courses receive a 26% score, followed by flexible lessons
suiting one’s schedule with an 18% share.
At a more general level, the reasons for learning languages are becoming more
and more tied to practical benefits such as opportunities to use the skills at work
(32%) or to work abroad (27%) compared to the results four years before.
Nonetheless, “softer” motives such as using foreign languages on holidays (35%) or
for personal satisfaction (27%) still remain very much in evidence.
QA5 What would be your main reasons for learning a new language?
EB54.1/2001
EB 64.3/2005
35%
To use on holidays abroad
47%
To use at work (including travelling abroad on
32%
business)
26%
27%
For personal satisfaction
37%
27%
To be able to work in another country
18%
23%
To get a better job in (OUR COUNTRY)
22%
To be able to understand people from other
21%
cultures
24%
To know a language that is widely spoken around
17%
the world
20%
17%
To meet people from other countries
21%
14%
To be able to study in another country
6%
0%
50%
15 Very active language learner = has both learned/improved language skills over the last two years and
intends to do so over the next 12 months, Active language learner = has either learned/improved language
skills over the last two years or intends to do so over the next 12 months, Non-active language learner=has
neither learned/improved language skills over the last two years nor intends to do so over the next 12
months.
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Special EUROBAROMETER 243 “EUROPEANS AND THEIR LANGUAGES” SUMMARY
THE CHALLENGES
The current situation poses considerable challenges for the future in relation to the
targets set for a European multilingual society. Among these are the challenges of
responding to citizens willingness to learn languages, meeting the aims at the policy
level and reaching the target of “mother tongue + two”.
First, a notable consensus among Europeans prevails about the benefits of
knowing several languages. 83% of citizens of the Member States consider that
knowing foreign languages is or could be useful for them personally, over half (53%)
appreciating language skills as very useful. Only 16% of respondents do not recognise
the benefits of multilingualism.
Practically everyone in Sweden (99%), Cyprus (98%) and Luxembourg (97%)
acknowledges the advantages, and even in the countries with the lowest support, in
Portugal and Greece, 3 in 4 citizens consider language skills to be useful.
QA1 Do you think knowing other languages than your mother
tongue is, or could be, very useful, fairly useful, not very useful
or not at all useful for you personally? - % EU25
Very useful
Fairly useful
Not very useful
Not at all useful
DK
1
53%
30%
8%
8%
0%
50%
100%
This support extends to the policy level since 67% of the respondents agree
with the view that language teaching should be a political priority, 29% being
entirely in agreement with this view.
In 26 out of 29 countries polled, the largest proportion of citizens shares this view.
This appears to be especially the case in Southern European countries where
competence in languages is also perceived to be moderate. 87% of Cypriots and 82%
of Greeks would treat language teaching as a political priority whereas in the candidate
country Croatia (55% disagree) and in Finland (53%) the majority of citizens stands
against this view.
QA12.1 Please tell me to which extent you agree or disagree
wiht each of the following: Languages' teaching should be a
political priority - % EU
Totally agree
Tend to agree
Tend to disagree
Totally disagree
DK
29%
38%
19%
9% 6%
0%
50%
100%
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Special EUROBAROMETER 243 “EUROPEANS AND THEIR LANGUAGES” SUMMARY
Finally, the target of “mother tongue + two” receives cautious support from
Europeans, since 50% of Europeans agree with the view that everyone in the EU
should be able to speak two languages in addition to their mother tongue. 44% of
respondents are against this option. At present, 28% of Europeans indicate that they
are able to hold a conversation in two foreign languages.
At the country level, notable variation occurs. It appears that countries in Southern
and Eastern Europe are more likely to support the statement. This is in particular the
case in Poland (75%), Greece (74%) and Lithuania (69%). Sweden (27%) and the
acceding country Bulgaria (27%) have the lowest proportions of citizens accepting the
idea of everybody speaking at least two languages along with their mother tongue.
This aim was first brought to the fore in Barcelona in March 2002 by the Heads of
State or Government16 who called for at least two foreign languages to be taught from
a very early age. This objective is built on a long-term basis, thus, the work
that has begun has to continue. Ground for support exists, since 84% of Europeans
agree that everyone in the European Union should speak one language in addition to
their mother tongue.
16 Conclusions of the Barcelona European Council in March 2002:
http://ue.eu.int/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/ec/71025.pdf
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Special EUROBAROMETER 243 “EUROPEANS AND THEIR LANGUAGES” SUMMARY
EDUCATION IS THE KEY
The education systems in each country and future generations seem to be crucial in
meeting the challenges of multilingualism. As the Commissioner Ján Figeľ (responsible
for Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism) believes, “today’s young
generation will fully contribute to enriching Europe’s multilingual society”17.
QA7a I am going to read out several ways of learning a foreign language.
Please tell me which of these ways you have ever used - % EU
Language lessons at school (NEW)
65%
Group language lessons with a teacher
22%
None of these (SPONTANEOUS)
18%
Talking informally to a native speaker
16%
Long or frequent visits to a country where the
15%
language is spoken
Teaching myself by reading books
13%
Conversation exchanges with a native speaker
(one hour of your language, one hour of his/hers,
12%
etc.)
By watching films in original version (cinema/TV)
10%
(NEW)
Teaching myself by using audio-visual material
10%
(audiotape, audio CD, video, etc.)
0%
70%
Europeans learn languages at school and at secondary school in particular. A
large majority, 65%, name language lessons at school as a way they have used to
learn foreign languages. When asked where they have improved their language skills,
59% of respondents refer to secondary school and 24% to primary school. In fact, for
many Europeans, school appears to be the only place where they ever learn
foreign languages.
A wide consensus prevails among Europeans on the importance of young
people learning foreign languages. 73% of EU citizens indicate better job
opportunities as the main reason for the young to gain knowledge of other languages
apart from their mother tongue, followed by 38% of respondents stating the global
status of the language as a motive for young people to study languages. Practically
no one (0,4%) considers that it is not important for young people to acquire
language skills.
17 Press release on the European Day of Languages 26 September 2005
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/05/1179&format=HTML&aged=0&language
=EN&guiLanguage=fr
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Special EUROBAROMETER 243 “EUROPEANS AND THEIR LANGUAGES” SUMMARY
The majority of Europeans think that the best age to start to teach both the
first and the second foreign language to children is from the age of six
onwards (55% and 64% respectively), in other words, at primary school.
Referring to the challenge of an early start to learn two foreign languages, 39% of EU
citizens would accept that children begin to learn the first language in
addition to their mother tongue before the age of 6. However, only 17% of
respondents share this view when it comes to the second foreign language.
77% of the EU citizens consider that children should learn English as their
first foreign language. English is number one in all countries polled, except the
United Kingdom, Ireland and Luxembourg. French follows next with a 33% share and
German receives support from 28% of the respondents.
QA2b And which two languages, apart from your mother tongue do you
think children should learn?18
English French German Spanish Russian Italian Swedish
EU25
77%
33%
28%
19%
3%
2%
0%
BE
88%
50%
7%
9%
0%
1%
-
CZ
89%
9%
66%
4%
9%
0%
-
DK
94%
13%
62%
13%
0%
0%
0%
DE
89%
45%
3%
16%
6%
2%
-
EE
94%
6%
22%
1%
47%
0%
1%
EL
96%
34%
50%
3%
0%
6%
-
ES
85%
44%
14%
4%
0%
1%
-
FR
91%
2%
24%
45%
0%
6%
-
IE
3%
64%
42%
35%
1%
4% 0%
IT
84%
34%
17%
17%
0%
0%
-
CY
98%
49%
19%
2%
4%
4%
0%
LV
94%
6%
28%
1%
42%
0%
0%
LT
93%
6%
34%
2%
43%
0%
0%
LU
59%
83%
43%
2%
0%
1%
-
HU
85%
4%
73%
3%
2%
2%
-
MT
90%
24%
13%
2%
-
61%
-
NL
90%
22%
40%
21%
0%
0%
-
AT
84%
29%
2%
10%
4%
11%
-
PL
90%
7%
69%
1%
10%
1%
-
PT
90%
60%
8%
7%
-
0%
-
SI
96%
6%
69%
3%
0%
12%
0%
SK
87%
7%
75%
3%
6%
1%
0%
FI
85%
10%
24%
3%
10%
0%
38%
SE
99%
17%
35%
31%
1%
0%
1%
UK
5%
71%
34%
39%
1%
3%
-
BG
87%
13%
49%
5%
14%
1%
-
HR
82%
5%
69%
2%
0%
14%
-
RO
64%
34%
17%
7%
2%
8%
-
TR
72%
12%
52%
1%
2%
1%
-
= First language
= Second language
18 In the table, only those languages that receive the largest and the second largest share of mentions in a
country are presented.
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Special EUROBAROMETER 243 “EUROPEANS AND THEIR LANGUAGES” SUMMARY
Along with school education, many other ways to learn languages and different
learning environments exist. As an example, research shows that using sub-titles can
encourage and facilitate language learning.
In those countries where sub-titles are commonly in use, support for
watching foreign films and programmes in the original language is
significantly high. This is the case for 94% of Swedes and Danes and 93% of Finnish
respondents. It can be noted that these countries are among the Member States where
citizens tend to be proficient in several languages.
On average 10% of EU citizens state that they have used watching films in their
original version as a way to learn languages. However, the majority of Europeans,
56%, prefers to watch foreign films and programmes dubbed than to hear the
original language with subtitles. This is in particular the case in Hungary (84%)
and the Czech Republic (78%).
QA11.8 Please tell me if you tend to agree or tend to disagree
with the following statements. I prefer to watch foreign films
and programmes with subtitles, rather than dubbed - % EU
Tend to agree
Tend to disagree
DK
v
1
37%
56%
6%
0%
50%
100%
FINALLY
In the light of the targets set for a multilingual Europe, the situation can be
assessed as promising. Compared to the results of the Eurobarometer surveys
carried out in 200119, the developments over four years are positive:
• The number of EU citizens who know at least one foreign language increases
linearly from 47% in 2001 to 56% in 2005.
• The self-evaluated level of language skills of Europeans is improving. Compared
with the results in 2001, the share of those mastering English and Spanish
increases by 4 points and the proportion of those speaking French and German
very well rises by 3 and 2 points respectively20.
• Today more Europeans find that knowing foreign languages is useful compared
with four years ago (83% in 2005 compared to 72% in 2001).
19 EB54.1 Europeans and Languages in
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_147_summ_en.pdf and
Standard EB 55.1 in http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/archives/eb/eb55/eb55_en.pdf
20 The level of Russian was not covered in the EB54.1
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SPECIAL EUROBAROMETER N°243
“Europeans and their Languages”
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Between the 5th of November and the 7th of December 2005, TNS Opinion & Social, a consortium created between
Taylor Nelson Sofres and EOS Gallup Europe, carried out wave 64.3 of the EUROBAROMETER, on request of the
EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Directorate-General Press and Communication, Opinion Polls.
The SPECIAL EUROBAROMETER N°243 is part of wave 64.3 and covers the population of the respective nationalities
of the European Union Member States, resident in each of the Member States and aged 15 years and over. The
EUROBAROMETER 64.3 has also been conducted in the two acceding countries (Bulgaria and Romania) and in the two
candidate countries (Croatia and Turkey). In these countries, the survey covers the national population of citizens of
the respective nationalities and the population of citizens of all the European Union Member States that are residents
in those countries and have a sufficient command of one of the respective national language(s) to answer the
questionnaire. The basic sample design applied in all states is a multi-stage, random (probability) one. In each
country, a number of sampling points was drawn with probability proportional to population size (for a total coverage
of the country) and to population density.
In order to do so, the sampling points were drawn systematically from each of the "administrative regional units",
after stratification by individual unit and type of area. They thus represent the whole territory of the countries
surveyed according to the EUROSTAT NUTS II (or equivalent) and according to the distribution of the resident
population of the respective nationalities in terms of metropolitan, urban and rural areas. In each of the selected
sampling points, a starting address was drawn, at random. Further addresses (every Nth address) were selected by
standard "random route" procedures, from the initial address. In each household, the respondent was drawn, at
random (following the "closest birthday rule"). All interviews were conducted face-to-face in people's homes and in
the appropriate national language. As far as the data capture is concerned, CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal
Interview) was used in those countries where this technique was available.
ABREVIATIONS COUNTRIES INSTITUTES
N°
FIELDWORK
POPULATION
INTERVIEWS
DATES
15+
BE Belgium
TNS
Dimarso 1.000 08/11/2005
06/12/2005
8.598.982
CZ
Czech Rep.
TNS Aisa
1.029
11/11/2005
04/12/2005
8.571.710
DK
Denmark
TNS Gallup DK
1.031
08/11/2005
07/12/2005
4.380.063
DE Germany
TNS
Infratest 1.557 08/11/2005
29/11/2005
64.174.295
EE Estonia Emor
1.000 11/11/2005
06/12/2005 887.094
EL Greece TNS
ICAP
1.000 09/11/2005
04/12/2005
8.674.230
ES Spain TNS
Demoscopia
1.025 05/11/2005
04/12/2005
35.882.820
FR France TNS
Sofres
1.012 08/11/2005
05/12/2005
44.010.619
IE Ireland TNS
MRBI
1.000 09/11/2005
04/12/2005
3.089.775
IT Italy TNS
Abacus
1.000 07/11/2005
05/12/2005
49.208.000
CY
Rep. of
Cyprus
Synovate 502
11/11/2005
05/12/2005
552.213
LV
Latvia TNS
Latvia
1.000 08/11/2005
04/12/2005
1.394.351
LT
TNS Gallup
Lithuania
Lithuania 1.011
13/11/2005
04/12/2005
2.803.661
LU
Luxembourg TNS
ILReS
501
07/11/2005 06/12/2005
367.199
HU
Hungary TNS
Hungary
1.015 11/11/2005
28/11/2005
8.503.379
MT
Malta MISCO
500 08/11/2005
04/12/2005 322.917
NL
Netherlands TNS
NIPO
1.032
12/11/2005 05/12/2005
13.242.328
AT Austria Österreichisches
Gallup-Institute
1.002 10/11/2005
02/12/2005
6.679.444
PL
Poland TNS
OBOP
1.000 10/11/2005
06/12/2005
31.610.437
PT
Portugal TNS
EUROTESTE 1.000 22/11/2005
06/12/2005 8.080.915
SI
Slovenia RM
PLUS
1.030 11/11/2005
06/12/2005 1.663.869
SK
Slovakia
TNS AISA SK
1.044
11/11/2005
29/11/2005
4.316.438
FI
Finland
TNS Gallup Oy
1.017
08/11/2005
07/12/2005
4.279.286
SE
Sweden TNS
GALLUP
1.054 08/11/2005
29/11/2005 7.376.680
UK
United
Kingdom
TNS UK
1.321
05/11/2005
04/12/2005
47.685.578
BG
Bulgaria TNS
BBSS
1.004 07/11/2005
21/11/2005 6.695.512
HR
Croatia Puls
1.000 08/11/2005
05/12/2005 3.682.826
RO
Romania TNS
CSOP
1.002
12/11/2005
04/12/2005 18.145.036
TR
Turkey TNS
PIAR
1.005 07/11/2005
05/12/2005
47.583.830
TOTAL
28.694
05/11/2005
07/12/2005
442.463.487
For each country a comparison between the sample and the universe was carried out. The Universe description was
derived from Eurostat population data or from national statistics offices. For all countries surveyed, a national
weighting procedure, using marginal and intercellular weighting, was carried out based on this Universe description.
In all countries, gender, age, region and size of locality were introduced in the iteration procedure. For international
weighting (i.e. EU averages), TNS Opinion & Social applies the official population figures as provided by EUROSTAT or
national statistic offices. The total population figures for input in this post-weighting procedure are listed above.
Readers are reminded that survey results are estimations, the accuracy of which, everything being equal, rests upon
the sample size and upon the observed percentage. With samples of about 1,000 interviews, the real percentages
vary within the following confidence limits:
Observed percentages
10% or 90%
20% or 80%
30% or 70%
40% or 60%
50%
Confidence limits
± 1.9 points
± 2.5 points
± 2.7 points
± 3.0 points
± 3.1 points
