The Neshoba Democrat., 1921-08-04
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
BUREAU OF THE CENSUS
WASHINGTON
MISSISSIPPI: ILLITERACY


Washington. ID. c., July 81, 1921
According to the census OF 1920 there
are 229,5l9 illiterate persons ten years
OF age and over In the state Of Mis-
sissippi, 'illiterate" meaning unable
to write. OF this number 2l,SSl are
native whites Of native parentage,
361 are of foreign or mixed parentage,
and 1,057 are OF foreign birth. The
number of i;literate Negroes is 205, ,59S
In the total population ten years of
age and over the per centage of illiti
eracy is III, which, it is gratifying
to note, shows a diminution since
1910, when 1t was 224. In the case OF
the Negroes, the per centage declined
from 1915 to 1872, and IN the case of
the native white of native parentage
from 5.3 to 36.
There is more illiteracy In the ru-
raj districts of the state than in the
cities, the per centages being 1872 for
the rural population and liz for the
urban. For the native white popula-
tion OF native parentage the urban
per centage OF illiteracy is l.6, while
the rural is 10. In the case of the Ne
gro population the per centage is "a !
the urban population as against
1913 in the rural.
By counties the per centage Of illit-
eracy ranges from 45.3 In Tunica
County to 81 in Pontotoc County.
MISSISSIPPI SCHOOL ATTEN-
DANCE.
Washington, d. c., July 81, 1921.-
According to the census of 1920 there
are 32S,372 children 7 to 13 years OF
age In the state of Mississippi. and of
this number 263, 100, or SOL per cent,
were reported as attending school.
In 1910 the per centage attending
school was 75.4, thus indicating a
gra tifying improvement as regards
school attendance between 1910 and
1920. OF the children Ia and l5 years
of age in 1920. 75.2 per cent We're at-.
tending school, and Of those l6 and
IL years of age 5l.7 per cent.
or the white children to 13 years
of age 75.4 per cent were attending
school in 1910 and S0.l per cent in
1920. For colored children of the
same age the per centage in the same
interval increased from go to TO.
The per centage OF children attend
ing schools was considerably larger
in the cities than in the country dis
tricts, the per centage Of children in
the urban population Z to IL years OF
age being 1872, whilein the rural pop
ulation it was 79 |. "Urban." nccor-
ding to the census definition, includes
all cities and other Incorporated
places of $500 population or NOSE.
AGE IN MISSISSIPPI.
Washington, ID. c., July 27, 1921 =
According to the census OF 1920, 1874
per cent, or almost two-fifths OF the
people in the state of Mississippi are
either infants or children under 15
years OF age; 1O.7 per cent are young
people Is to 10 years old; 34.3 per
cent, about one-third, are men and
women In the prime of life, being
from 20 to A years old; while 1873
per cent, being 45 years of age and
over, are well along in middle life ii
they have not reached old age.
The urban population as compar.
ed with the rural shows some rather
striking differences in age, the per
fcentage 20 to A years of age being:
42.5 for the urban population, as
compared with 33 for the rural,
while the per centage under l5 years
of age is 28.S In the urban population
as against SO 8 in the rural. These
differences may Indicate larger fami.
lies of children in the country than in
the city, but probably indicate also
the fact that country children as
they grow up have a tendency to
flock to the cities, thereby increasing
the active adult population OF the
cities at the expense of the rural dis
tricts.
Just about one-half OF the popula-
tion, As 8 per cent, are old enough to
vote, being 81 or over; aud in this
class the men outnumber the women
In the ratio OF l02 to 100. The males
of military or fighting age, 1S to "A,
constitute 36 5 per cent OF the male
population and 1872 per cent OF the
total population.