SOME DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF RURAL YOUTH.

RURAL YOUTH, DEFINED AS THOSE AGED 15 TO 24, COMPRISE AN IMPORTANT PORTION OF THE U.S. POPULATION. THEY NUMBER 7.5 MILLION PERSONS, WITH 5.7 MILLION RESIDING IN RURAL-NONFARM AREAS AND 1.8 MILLION RESIDING IN RURAL-FARM AREAS. RURAL-NONFARM AND RURAL-FARM YOUTH IN THESE AGES FORM A LARGER PERCENTAGE OF THEIR RESPECTIVE TOTAL POPULATION THAN URBAN YOUTH. RURAL YOUTH AGED 15 TO 19 ARE MORE NUMEROUS THAN THOSE AGED 20 TO 24, BECAUSE OF OUT-MIGRATION. RURAL YOUTH ARE MORE CONCENTRATED IN THE SOUTH THAN IN ANY OTHER REGION. OF THE 7.5 MILLION RURAL YOUTH, APPROXIMATELY 925,000 ARE NONWHITES NONWHITES REPRESENT SLIGHTLY MORE THAN 11 PERCENT OF THE RURAL-NONFARM YOUTH BUT NEARLY 15 PERCENT OF RURAL-FARM YOUTH. SEX RATIOS OF MALES PER 100 FEMALES ARE HIGH IN RURAL POPULATIONS. AMONG RURAL-NONFARM YOUTH AGED 15 TO 24, THE SEX RATIO IS 113 TO SIX, AMONG RURAL-FARM YOUTH OF THESE AGES, THE SEX RATIO IS 120 TO FOUR. THESE HIGH RATIOS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE HIGH RATE OF OUT-MIGRATION OF FEMALES FROM RURAL AREAS, AND WITH THE LOCATION OF MILITARY BASES AND PENAL INSTITUTIONS IN RURAL AREAS. THE AGE GROUP UNDER CONSIDERATION COVERS THE PERIOD IN WHICH MOST MARRIAGES OCCUR IN THE UNITED STATES. APPROXIMATELY ONE IN EVERY SIX OR SEVEN FEMALES AGED 15 TO 19 IN RURAL AREAS IS MARRIED WHEREAS ONLY ONE IN 25 OR 30 MALES OF THIS AGE IS MARRIED. AT EACH AGE BETWEEN 14 AND 24, LOWER PROPORTIONS OF RURAL THAN URBAN YOUTH ARE ENROLLED IN SCHOOL. THE AGE 15 TO 24 IS THE ONE IN WHICH MOST YOUTHS ENTER THE LABOR FORCE. FOR URBAN MALES 14 TO 15 YEARS OLD, THE PERCENTAGE IN THE LABOR FORCE RANGES FROM 12 TO 23 PERCENT, FOR RURAL MALES, THE COMPARABLE RANGE IN PERCENTAGE IS FROM 77 TO 91. THE RURAL-NONFARM POPULATION WILL KEEP PACE WITH URBAN GROWTH, THE RURAL-FARM PORTION WILL DECLINE.