> Thirdly, why would people living in urban areas be less literate than people from rural areas? Usually, people from urban areas are better educated than people from rural areas.
Hmmmm .... Certainly the high end (in education) of the population will be better educated in urban areas. And I imagine that will make the average better for urban areas.
On the other hand, virtually everyone living in a rural area is going to be an independent businessperson, in some sense, thus establishing a minimum baseline requirement for literacy. In a city, one can be a cog in a huge machine, leaving the reading for someone else.
So while I would expect the literacy highs to be higher in a city, I would also expect the lows to be lower.
But what about some data? I did a few quick searches, but urban vs. rural literacy data for the U.S. seems to be a bit hard to come by. I did find this map showing illiteracy rates for Texas.
The main trend the map shows, is for illiteracy to increase to the south & west. However, there is a big blob of illiteracy around Houston. On the other hand, there is not really any significant blob for the Dallas area. Go figure.
More data would be appreciated, if anyone can find it.
On the other hand, virtually everyone living in a rural area is going to be an independent businessperson, in some sense, thus establishing a minimum baseline requirement for literacy.
As someone who grew up in a rural area, I can assure you that this is false. As in urban areas, most people in rural areas work for someone else.
Hmmmm .... Certainly the high end (in education) of the population will be better educated in urban areas. And I imagine that will make the average better for urban areas.
On the other hand, virtually everyone living in a rural area is going to be an independent businessperson, in some sense, thus establishing a minimum baseline requirement for literacy. In a city, one can be a cog in a huge machine, leaving the reading for someone else.
So while I would expect the literacy highs to be higher in a city, I would also expect the lows to be lower.
But what about some data? I did a few quick searches, but urban vs. rural literacy data for the U.S. seems to be a bit hard to come by. I did find this map showing illiteracy rates for Texas.
http://www-tcall.tamu.edu/docs/09illitmap.html
The main trend the map shows, is for illiteracy to increase to the south & west. However, there is a big blob of illiteracy around Houston. On the other hand, there is not really any significant blob for the Dallas area. Go figure.
More data would be appreciated, if anyone can find it.