This article presents selected findings from the first European comparative survey using the HLS-EU-Q conducted in 2011. More in-depth descriptions of methods and results are available in the research report of the HLS-EU project. The paper will specifically consider how health literacy is distributed in the population of the countries involved, what proportions of the population show limited health literacy, which vulnerable groups have an above-average proportion of limited health literacy and whether there is a social gradient for health literacy.