In 2003, the average prose literacy score for the Canadian population age 16 and over was 272 on a scale ranging from 0 to 500. Prose literacy is defined as the skills needed to understand and use information from texts. The average prose literacy scores were above the national average in the Yukon, Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. Conversely, the average prose literacy scores of those of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Nunavut were below the Canadian average. Nova Scotia, the Northwest Territories, Manitoba, Ontario and Prince Edward Island had average prose scores that were not statistically different than the Canadian averages. In Quebec there were significant variations in performance across the domains. This map depicts average prose scores by census divisions.