Figure 2.4
Cohort A: born between 1968 and 77: Aged 17 to 26 in 1994
and 26 to 35 in 2003;
Cohort B: born between 1958 and 67: Aged 27 to 36 in 1994,
36 to 45 in 2003;
Cohort C: born between 1948 and 57: Aged 37 to 46 in 1994;
46 to 55 in 2003;
Cohort D: born between 1938 and 47: Aged 47 to 56 in 1994;
56 to 65 in 2003; and
Cohort E: born between 1928 and 37: Aged 57 to 66 in 1994;
66 to 75 in 2003.
Source: International Adult Literacy Survey, 1994; International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey, 2003.
Youth performance matters because this group has potentially the most time to contribute their knowledge and skills to their communities, their families, and to the labour market. While having a high average level of proficiency among youth is important, so too is having an equal spread of competencies among youth living in various regions, economic and social circumstances.
Youth, defined as those aged 16 to 25, account for between 16 and 19 percent of the population in most jurisdictions. The exceptions are the Northwest Territories, where youth account for 21 percent of the population, and Nunavut, where youth make up as much as 28 percent of the population (see Annex A Table 2.12).
In most provinces and territories, the proportion of youth with prose literacy proficiency at Level 3 or above is greater than the proportion of youth at Levels 1 and 2 (Figure 2.5). Across all jurisdictions, however, more than one-third of 16 to 25 year-olds are at Levels 1 and 2.