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Less Than 12 Years Education
Births to women with Less than 12 Years Education is defined as the
percent of all births to women who have received less than 12 years of
formal education. More than any other single factor, education defines
the woman's life-long economic opportunities (and those of her
children), her access to medical services for herself and her children,
and her ability to make effective use of health information.
Births to women with Less than 12 Years Education are calculated as a
percent of all births. For example, of the 36,982 births in Arkansas
in 2001, 8,131 were to women who had received less than 12 years of
formal education. The percent of births to women with Less than 12
Years Education = 8,131 / 36,982 X 100 = 22.0 percent. This is close
to the national percentage of 21.7.
For the 1997-2001 period, Sevier County, located in the Southwest
region, has the highest percentage of births to women with less than 12
years of formal education (46.0 percent). Faulkner County, located in
the Central region, has the lowest percentage of births to women in
this category (10.9 percent). The five-year average among Public
Health Regions ranged from a high of 26.0 in the Northwest region and
25.9 in the Southeast region to a low of 15.7 in the Central region.
The percent of births to women with less than 12 years of education
also differs by race. For the five-year period from 1997 through 2001,
the average percent was 20.9 for Whites and 27.1 for Blacks.
Nationally and in Arkansas alike, more than three-fourths of women who
gave birth in 2001 had at least 12 years of education (78 percent).
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