Literacy Index of the Population of the Middle Urals in the 1960s

Abstract

Based on population census data, the article compares the literacy index of the population of the Middle Urals (Sverdlovsk oblast) and the RSFSR in 1959 and 1970 and analyses the changes that have occurred over the decade. The literacy index is understood as the educational level of the population: the ratio of the number of people with a certain education to the total number of people of a certain age, in ppm. A significant increase in the literacy index of the population of the Middle Urals is noted. The share of people with incomplete secondary and secondary general education increased more intensively than in the RSFSR. However, the proportion of people with secondary professional and higher and incomplete higher education either decreased or remained unchanged compared to the national indicators, indicating a less intensive growth of these educational levels. Great successes in the development of secondary general and incomplete secondary education in the region and the presence of problems in the development of secondary professioanl and higher education are stated.