An international survey of the numeracy abilities of adults was part of the Adult Literacy and Lifeskills (ALLS) survey conducted in Australia in 2006 and the start of 2007. This paper includes information on the construct behind the numeracy component of the survey, including the complexity scheme that attempts to predict the difficulty of test items, and reports on the initial data from the first wave of countries, highlighting the important role that numeracy plays in both human and social capital terms. First Australian results are due out in late 2007.