Survey characteristics in participating countries
| Country | Survey years | Survey name | Response rate | Proportion with low education (sex combined) | Number of respondents 25–79 years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Women | |||||
| *Those with no/elementary education only. †Only includes participants of the former West Germany. | ||||||
| Norway | 1985 | Smoking prevalence and social surveys | 58 | 31.9 | 990 | 996 |
| 1990 | 58 | 25.6 | 1005 | 1051 | ||
| 1995 | 58 | 20.6 | 600 | 584 | ||
| 2000 | 58 | 15.9 | 584 | 634 | ||
| Sweden | 1988–1989 | Swedish survey of living conditions survey | 86 | 37.2 | 4987 | 5143 |
| 1992–1993 | 86 | 28.9 | 4916 | 4955 | ||
| 1996–1997 | 86 | 26.3 | 4668 | 4908 | ||
| 2000–2001 | 85 | 21.8 | 4604 | 4886 | ||
| Finland | 1986 | Finnish health behaviour and health survey | 82 | 48.1 | 1414 | 1670 |
| 1991 | 82 | 36.6 | 1380 | 1576 | ||
| 1996 | 72 | 28.7 | 1330 | 1525 | ||
| 2001 | 70 | 22.0 | 1272 | 1467 | ||
| Denmark | 1987 | Danish health and morbidity survey | 80 | 36.0 | 1820 | 1875 |
| 1994 | 78 | 25.1 | 1798 | 1956 | ||
| 2000 | 74 | 19.2 | 6783 | 6958 | ||
| United Kingdom | 1984 | General household survey | 83 | 53.6 | 6764 | 7850 |
| 1990–1991 | 83 | 45.0 | 6700 | 7612 | ||
| 1994–1995 | 82 | 38.9 | 6430 | 7551 | ||
| 2000–2001 | 68 | 27.7 | 6019 | 6558 | ||
| Netherlands | 1990 | National health survey | 56 | 22.8 | 2405 | 2506 |
| 1995 | 59 | 22.8 | 3102 | 3250 | ||
| 1999 | 56 | 18.7 | 3067 | 3237 | ||
| Germany† | 1984 | German national health survey | 66 | 66.7 | 2417 | 2373 |
| 1987 | 71 | 64.4 | 2620 | 2644 | ||
| 1990 | 69 | 60.2 | 2590 | 2665 | ||
| 1998 | 61 | 51.2 | 1724 | 1840 | ||
| Italy | 1986–1987 | Population health conditions and use of healthcare services survey | 92 | 52.0 | 23591 | 25152 |
| 1990–1991 | 89 | 44.4 | 21335 | 22560 | ||
| 1994 | 86 | 39.2 | 19917 | 21323 | ||
| 1999–2000 | 87 | 35.9 | 47221 | 50498 | ||
| Spain | 1987 | Continuing health survey | 90 | 39.8 | 10855 | 12032 |
| 1993 | 90 | 17.8 | 7775 | 8411 | ||
| 1995 | 85 | 16.2 | 2352 | 2602 | ||
| 1997 | 85 | 8.0 | 2373 | 2603 | ||