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Digest of Education Statistics
2005 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 7. Percentage of the population 3 to 34 years old enrolled in school, by age group: Selected years, 1940 through 2004
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
       |            |               |            |            |            |         18 and 19 years old          |         20 to 24 years old           |            |
       |            |               |            |            |            |______________________________________|______________________________________|            |
       |      Total,|               |            |            |            |            |  In elemen-|            |            |            |            |            |
       |     3 to 34|        3 and 4|     5 and 6|     7 to 13|    14 to 17|            |    tary and|   In higher|            |     20 and |    22 to 24|    25 to 29|    30 to 34
Year   |       years|          years|       years|       years|       years|      Total |   secondary|   education|      Total |    21 years|       years|       years|       years
_______|____________|_______________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________
1      |           2|              3|           4|           5|           6|           7|           8|           9|          10|          11|          12|          13|          14
_______|____________|_______________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________
1940 ..|---     (†) |   ---     (†) |---     (†) |95.0  (---) |79.3  (---) |28.9  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) | 6.6  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |---     (†) |---     (†)
1945 ..|---     (†) |   ---     (†) |---     (†) |98.1  (---) |78.4  (---) |20.7  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) | 3.9  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |---     (†) |---     (†)
1947 ..|---     (†) |   ---     (†) |73.8  (---) |98.5  (---) |79.3  (---) |24.3  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |10.2  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) | 3.0  (---) |---     (†)
1948 ..|---     (†) |   ---     (†) |74.7  (---) |98.1  (---) |81.8  (---) |26.9  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) | 9.7  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) | 2.6  (---) |---     (†)
1949 ..|---     (†) |   ---     (†) |76.2  (---) |98.6  (---) |81.6  (---) |25.3  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) | 9.2  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) | 3.8  (---) |---     (†)
       |            |               |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |
1950 ..|---     (†) |   ---     (†) |74.4  (---) |98.7  (---) |83.7  (---) |29.4  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) | 9.0  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) | 3.0  (---) | 0.9  (---)
1951 ..|---     (†) |   ---     (†) |73.6  (---) |99.1  (---) |85.2  (---) |26.2  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) | 8.6  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) | 2.5  (---) |---     (†)
1952 ..|---     (†) |   ---     (†) |75.2  (---) |98.8  (---) |85.2  (---) |28.8  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) | 9.7  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) | 2.6  (---) | 1.2  (---)
1953 ..|---     (†) |   ---     (†) |78.6  (---) |99.4  (---) |85.9  (---) |31.2  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |11.1  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) | 2.9  (---) | 1.7  (---)
1954 ..|---     (†) |   ---     (†) |77.3  (---) |99.4  (---) |87.1  (---) |32.4  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |11.2  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) | 4.1  (---) | 1.5  (---)
       |            |               |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |
1955 ..|---     (†) |   ---     (†) |78.1  (---) |99.2  (---) |86.9  (---) |31.5  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |11.1  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) | 4.2  (---) | 1.6  (---)
1956 ..|---     (†) |   ---     (†) |77.6  (---) |99.3  (---) |88.2  (---) |35.4  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |12.8  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) | 5.1  (---) | 1.9  (---)
1957 ..|---     (†) |   ---     (†) |78.6  (---) |99.5  (---) |89.5  (---) |34.9  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |14.0  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |---     (†) |---     (†)
1958 ..|---     (†) |   ---     (†) |80.4  (---) |99.5  (---) |89.2  (---) |37.6  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |13.4  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |---     (†) |---     (†)
1959 ..|---     (†) |   ---     (†) |80.0  (---) |99.4  (---) |90.2  (---) |36.8  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |12.7  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |---     (†) |---     (†)
       |            |               |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |
1960 ..|---     (†) |   ---     (†) |80.7  (---) |99.5  (---) |90.3  (---) |38.4  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |13.1  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) | 4.9  (---) | 2.4  (---)
1961 ..|---     (†) |   ---     (†) |81.7  (---) |99.3  (---) |91.4  (---) |38.0  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |13.7  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |---     (†) |---     (†)
1962 ..|---     (†) |   ---     (†) |82.2  (---) |99.3  (---) |92.0  (---) |41.8  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |15.6  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |---     (†) |---     (†)
1963 ..|---     (†) |   ---     (†) |82.7  (---) |99.3  (---) |92.9  (---) |40.9  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |17.3  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |---     (†) |---     (†)
1964 ..|---     (†) |   ---     (†) |83.3  (---) |99.0  (---) |93.1  (---) |41.6  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |16.8  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) | 5.2  (---) | 2.6  (---)
       |            |               |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |
1965 ..|55.5  (---) |   10.6  (---) |84.9  (---) |99.4  (---) |93.2  (---) |46.3  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |19.0  (---) |27.6  (---) |13.2  (---) | 6.1  (---) | 3.2  (---)
1966 ..|56.1  (---) |   12.5  (---) |85.8  (---) |99.3  (---) |93.7  (---) |47.2  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |19.9  (---) |29.9  (---) |13.2  (---) | 6.5  (---) | 2.7  (---)
1967 ..|56.6  (---) |   14.2  (---) |87.4  (---) |99.3  (---) |93.7  (---) |47.6  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |22.0  (---) |33.3  (---) |13.6  (---) | 6.6  (---) | 4.0  (---)
1968 ..|56.7  (---) |   15.7  (---) |87.6  (---) |99.1  (---) |94.2  (---) |50.4  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |21.4  (---) |31.2  (---) |13.8  (---) | 7.0  (---) | 3.9  (---)
1969 ..|57.0  (---) |   16.1  (---) |88.4  (---) |99.2  (---) |94.0  (---) |50.2  (---) |---     (†) |---     (†) |23.0  (---) |34.1  (---) |15.4  (---) | 7.9  (---) | 4.8  (---)
       |            |               |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |
1970 ..|56.4  (0.22)|   20.5  (0.73)|89.5  (0.53)|99.2  (0.08)|94.1  (0.27)|47.7  (0.85)|10.5  (0.52)|37.3  (0.83)|21.5  (0.47)|31.9  (0.85)|14.9  (0.52)| 7.5  (0.33)| 4.2  (0.27)
1971 ..|56.2  (0.21)|   21.2  (0.75)|91.6  (0.49)|99.1  (0.08)|94.5  (0.26)|49.2  (0.84)|11.5  (0.54)|37.7  (0.81)|21.9  (0.46)|32.2  (0.83)|15.4  (0.51)| 8.0  (0.33)| 4.9  (0.29)
1972 ..|54.9  (0.21)|   24.4  (0.80)|91.9  (0.50)|99.2  (0.08)|93.3  (0.28)|46.3  (0.82)|10.4  (0.50)|35.9  (0.79)|21.6  (0.45)|31.4  (0.79)|14.8  (0.50)| 8.6  (0.33)| 4.6  (0.27)
1973 ..|53.5  (0.21)|   24.2  (0.78)|92.5  (0.49)|99.2  (0.08)|92.9  (0.28)|42.9  (0.81)|10.0  (0.49)|32.9  (0.77)|20.8  (0.44)|30.1  (0.78)|14.5  (0.49)| 8.5  (0.32)| 4.5  (0.26)
1974 ..|53.6  (0.21)|   28.8  (0.83)|94.2  (0.43)|99.3  (0.08)|92.9  (0.28)|43.1  (0.80)| 9.9  (0.48)|33.2  (0.76)|21.4  (0.44)|30.2  (0.76)|15.1  (0.50)| 9.6  (0.33)| 5.7  (0.29)
       |            |               |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |
1975 ..|53.7  (0.21)|   31.5  (0.87)|94.7  (0.41)|99.3  (0.08)|93.6  (0.27)|46.9  (0.80)|10.2  (0.48)|36.7  (0.77)|22.4  (0.44)|31.2  (0.76)|16.2  (0.51)|10.1  (0.33)| 6.6  (0.30)
1976 ..|53.1  (0.21)|   31.3  (0.90)|95.5  (0.38)|99.2  (0.09)|93.7  (0.27)|46.2  (0.79)|10.2  (0.48)|36.0  (0.76)|23.3  (0.44)|32.0  (0.75)|17.1  (0.51)|10.0  (0.33)| 6.0  (0.28)
1977 ..|52.5  (0.21)|   32.0  (0.93)|95.8  (0.38)|99.4  (0.07)|93.7  (0.27)|46.2  (0.80)|10.4  (0.49)|35.7  (0.77)|22.9  (0.44)|31.8  (0.75)|16.5  (0.51)|10.8  (0.34)| 6.9  (0.30)
1978 ..|51.2  (0.21)|   34.2  (0.94)|95.3  (0.41)|99.1  (0.09)|93.7  (0.27)|45.4  (0.80)| 9.8  (0.48)|35.6  (0.77)|21.8  (0.43)|29.5  (0.73)|16.3  (0.50)| 9.4  (0.31)| 6.4  (0.28)
1979 ..|50.3  (0.21)|   35.1  (0.95)|95.8  (0.40)|99.2  (0.09)|93.6  (0.28)|45.0  (0.79)|10.3  (0.48)|34.6  (0.76)|21.7  (0.42)|30.2  (0.74)|15.8  (0.49)| 9.6  (0.31)| 6.4  (0.28)
       |            |               |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |
1980 ..|49.7  (0.21)|   36.7  (0.95)|95.7  (0.40)|99.3  (0.09)|93.4  (0.29)|46.4  (0.80)|10.5  (0.49)|35.9  (0.77)|22.3  (0.43)|31.0  (0.74)|16.3  (0.49)| 9.3  (0.30)| 6.4  (0.27)
1981 ..|48.9  (0.21)|   36.0  (0.92)|94.0  (0.46)|99.2  (0.09)|94.1  (0.27)|49.0  (0.80)|11.5  (0.51)|37.5  (0.78)|22.5  (0.42)|31.6  (0.73)|16.5  (0.48)| 9.0  (0.29)| 6.9  (0.27)
1982 ..|48.6  (0.22)|   36.4  (0.96)|95.0  (0.44)|99.2  (0.10)|94.4  (0.29)|47.8  (0.85)|11.3  (0.54)|36.5  (0.81)|23.5  (0.45)|34.0  (0.79)|16.8  (0.50)| 9.6  (0.31)| 6.3  (0.27)
1983 ..|48.4  (0.22)|   37.5  (0.94)|95.4  (0.42)|99.2  (0.09)|95.0  (0.27)|50.4  (0.86)|12.8  (0.57)|37.6  (0.83)|22.7  (0.44)|32.5  (0.79)|16.6  (0.50)| 9.6  (0.31)| 6.4  (0.27)
1984 ..|47.9  (0.22)|   36.3  (0.92)|94.5  (0.45)|99.2  (0.09)|94.7  (0.28)|50.1  (0.88)|11.5  (0.56)|38.6  (0.86)|23.7  (0.45)|33.9  (0.80)|17.3  (0.51)| 9.1  (0.30)| 6.3  (0.27)
       |            |               |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |
1985 ..|48.3  (0.22)|   38.9  (0.94)|96.1  (0.38)|99.2  (0.09)|94.9  (0.27)|51.6  (0.89)|11.2  (0.56)|40.4  (0.88)|24.0  (0.46)|35.3  (0.83)|16.9  (0.51)| 9.2  (0.30)| 6.1  (0.26)
1986 ..|48.2  (0.22)|   38.9  (0.93)|95.3  (0.40)|99.2  (0.10)|94.9  (0.28)|54.6  (0.90)|13.1  (0.61)|41.5  (0.89)|23.6  (0.46)|33.0  (0.83)|17.9  (0.53)| 8.8  (0.29)| 6.0  (0.25)
1987 ..|48.6  (0.22)|   38.3  (0.93)|95.1  (0.41)|99.5  (0.07)|95.0  (0.28)|55.6  (0.89)|13.1  (0.60)|42.5  (0.89)|25.5  (0.48)|38.7  (0.88)|17.5  (0.53)| 9.0  (0.30)| 5.8  (0.25)
1988 ..|48.7  (0.24)|   38.2  (1.01)|96.0  (0.41)|99.7  (0.07)|95.1  (0.30)|55.6  (0.96)|13.9  (0.67)|41.8  (0.95)|26.1  (0.53)|39.1  (0.96)|18.2  (0.60)| 8.3  (0.31)| 5.9  (0.27)
1989 ..|49.0  (0.22)|   39.1  (1.00)|95.2  (0.44)|99.3  (0.09)|95.7  (0.29)|56.0  (0.95)|14.4  (0.68)|41.6  (0.95)|27.0  (0.55)|38.5  (0.97)|19.9  (0.63)| 9.3  (0.33)| 5.7  (0.26)
       |            |               |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |
1990 ..|50.2  (0.23)|   44.4  (0.99)|96.5  (0.37)|99.6  (0.06)|95.8  (0.28)|57.2  (0.94)|14.5  (0.67)|42.7  (0.94)|28.6  (0.54)|39.7  (0.92)|21.0  (0.63)| 9.7  (0.33)| 5.8  (0.25)
1991 ..|50.7  (0.22)|   40.5  (0.96)|95.4  (0.41)|99.6  (0.06)|96.0  (0.27)|59.6  (0.96)|15.6  (0.71)|44.0  (0.97)|30.2  (0.55)|42.0  (0.92)|22.2  (0.64)|10.2  (0.34)| 6.2  (0.26)
1992 ..|51.4  (0.22)|   39.7  (0.95)|95.5  (0.41)|99.4  (0.08)|96.7  (0.25)|61.4  (0.96)|17.1  (0.74)|44.3  (0.98)|31.6  (0.56)|44.0  (0.95)|23.7  (0.65)| 9.8  (0.34)| 6.1  (0.26)
1993 ..|51.8  (0.22)|   40.4  (0.93)|95.4  (0.41)|99.5  (0.07)|96.5  (0.25)|61.6  (0.95)|17.2  (0.74)|44.4  (0.97)|30.8  (0.56)|42.7  (0.97)|23.6  (0.65)|10.2  (0.35)| 5.9  (0.25)
1994 ..|53.3  (0.21)|\1\47.3  (0.87)|96.7  (0.32)|99.4  (0.08)|96.6  (0.22)|60.2  (0.87)|16.2  (0.65)|43.9  (0.88)|32.0  (0.51)|44.9  (0.88)|24.0  (0.59)|10.8  (0.33)| 6.7  (0.25)
       |            |               |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |
1995 ..|53.7  (0.21)|\1\48.7  (0.87)|96.0  (0.34)|98.9  (0.10)|96.3  (0.23)|59.4  (0.85)|16.3  (0.64)|43.1  (0.86)|31.5  (0.52)|44.9  (0.89)|23.2  (0.60)|11.6  (0.34)| 5.9  (0.24)
1996 ..|54.1  (0.22)|\1\48.3  (0.91)|94.0  (0.43)|97.7  (0.15)|95.4  (0.26)|61.5  (0.87)|16.7  (0.67)|44.9  (0.89)|32.5  (0.55)|44.4  (0.93)|24.8  (0.65)|11.9  (0.36)| 6.1  (0.25)
1997 ..|55.6  (0.22)|\1\52.6  (0.92)|96.5  (0.33)|99.1  (0.09)|96.6  (0.22)|61.5  (0.86)|16.7  (0.66)|44.7  (0.88)|34.3  (0.55)|45.9  (0.91)|26.4  (0.66)|11.8  (0.36)| 5.7  (0.25)
1998 ..|55.8  (0.22)|\1\52.1  (0.92)|95.6  (0.37)|98.9  (0.10)|96.1  (0.24)|62.2  (0.84)|15.7  (0.63)|46.4  (0.86)|33.0  (0.55)|44.8  (0.91)|24.9  (0.65)|11.9  (0.37)| 6.6  (0.27)
1999 ..|56.0  (0.22)|\1\54.2  (0.93)|96.0  (0.36)|98.7  (0.11)|95.8  (0.24)|60.6  (0.84)|16.5  (0.64)|44.1  (0.85)|32.8  (0.54)|45.3  (0.90)|24.5  (0.64)|11.1  (0.36)| 6.2  (0.27)
       |            |               |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |            |
2000 ..|55.9  (0.22)|\1\52.1  (0.93)|95.6  (0.38)|98.2  (0.13)|95.7  (0.25)|61.2  (0.84)|16.5  (0.64)|44.7  (0.85)|32.5  (0.53)|44.1  (0.88)|24.6  (0.63)|11.4  (0.37)| 6.7  (0.28)
2001 ..|56.4  (0.22)|\1\52.4  (0.88)|95.3  (0.37)|98.3  (0.12)|95.8  (0.24)|61.1  (0.83)|17.1  (0.64)|44.0  (0.84)|34.1  (0.53)|46.1  (0.87)|25.5  (0.64)|11.8  (0.38)| 6.9  (0.28)
2002 ..|56.2  (0.21)|\1\56.3  (0.89)|95.5  (0.37)|98.3  (0.12)|96.4  (0.22)|63.3  (0.83)|18.0  (0.67)|45.3  (0.86)|34.4  (0.52)|47.8  (0.87)|25.6  (0.62)|12.1  (0.37)| 6.6  (0.27)
2003 ..|56.2  (0.20)|\1\55.1  (0.85)|94.5  (0.40)|98.3  (0.12)|96.2  (0.21)|64.5  (0.80)|17.9  (0.64)|46.6  (0.84)|35.6  (0.50)|48.3  (0.83)|27.8  (0.59)|11.8  (0.34)| 6.8  (0.26)
2004 ..|56.2  (0.20)|\1\54.0  (0.85)|95.4  (0.37)|98.4  (0.12)|96.5  (0.21)|64.4  (0.80)|16.6  (0.62)|47.8  (0.83)|35.2  (0.49)|48.9  (0.82)|26.3  (0.58)|13.0  (0.35)| 6.6  (0.26)
_______|____________|_______________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________
---Not available.
†Not applicable.
\1\Preprimary enrollment collected using new procedures. Data may not be comparable to figures for earlier years.
NOTE: Data for 1940 are for April. Data for all other years are as of October. Includes enrollment in any type of graded public, parochial, or other private schools. Includes nursery schools, kindergartens, elementary schools, high schools, colleges, universities, and professional schools. Attendance may be on either a full-time or part-time basis and during the day or night. Enrollments in "special" schools, such as trade schools, business colleges, or correspondence schools, are not included. Standard errors appear in parentheses.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970; Current Population Reports, Series P-20, various years; and Current Population Survey, October, 1940 through 2004, unpublished tabulations. (This table was prepared August 2005.)


2005 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest