United Nations

               ACC Task Force on Basic Social Services for All


                              NORTHERN AMERICA


                         School enrolment ratio     Adult
                          primary & secondary    literacy rate
                                  (%)                 (%)
                          female        male      female  male
                          ------        ----      ------  ----

Canada                       104         105          ..    ..
--------------------------------------------------------------
United States of America     102         103          ..    ..
--------------------------------------------------------------



Notes:

Data are shown only for countries or areas with population size of 150,000
or more in 1995 as estimated by Population Division of Department for
Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis of the United Nations
Secretariat (Population Division/DESIPA).  Two dots (..) indicate that data
are not available.



Gross enrolment ratio for primary and secondary school combined

  The total enrolment, regardless of age, in primary and secondary
  education as a proportion of the population of primary- and secondary-
  school age according to national regulations.  Data are shown for the
  latest available year.  Data before 1990 are shown with an (*).
  School-age ranges vary by country, but are typically 6 to 11 years
  for primary school and 12 to 17 years for secondary school.  It should
  be noted that the gross enrolment ratio can exceed 100, since it
  includes all pupils whatever their ages, whereas the population is
  limited to the range of official school ages.  From UNESCO Statistical
  Yearbook 1996 (UNESCO publishing and Bernan Press).


Adult illiteracy rate

  The proportion of the population who are illiterate, expressed as a
  percentage of the population aged 15 years or above.  A person is
  illiterate who cannot, with understanding, both read and write a
  short simple statement on everyday life.  From Compendium of Statistics
  on Illiteracy - 1995 Edition (UNESCO).  Recent data are not available
  for many developed countries; UNESCO estimates that illiteracy averaged
  around 1 per cent in those countries in 1995.



United Nations publication, (ST/ESA/SER.A/160)
Copyright (C) United Nations 1997