Guerrero in Third to Last Place for Education in Mexico

(Acapulco, JG 16 May) Guerrero has around 3.2 million inhabitants. Of these, almost 70%, or 2.2 million people, have only a 7th grade education or less, according to Mexico’s National Institute of Geography and Statistics (similar to the US Census Bureau). This puts it at the bottom of Mexico’s states, with only Chiapas and Oaxaca showing worse results. Many of Guerrero’s unschooled population are indigenous people, living in remote mountain villages. But they represent only 17% of the total population. This forces the conclusion that well over half of the residents in Guerrero’s towns and cities have not progressed in school after age 11 or 12.

The 2010 census shows that 11% of the population of Guerrero, or 374,000, are illiterate. Illiterate women outnumber the men 2 to 1. The figures for Acapulco show almost 44,500 illiterate persons over age 15. Another 58,500 over age 15 have not finished primary school.