San Lucas - Facts and figures - mainly taken from the EU supervised study in 2002

County of Sololá: 76% live in poverty and 33% in extreme poverty, as defined by the UN

San Lucas Toliman
Population   -   about 13,000 in town and 13,000 in the villages: 51% women
                          57%  are less than 20 years old,   but only  3% are over 60 years old
                          89% are Catchiquel Mayans (Sololá county average is 95% Mayans)
                          Population growth is about 2.7% per year

Education  -    In 2001, 47.8% of the population between 15 and 65 years old were illiterate.
                         There are seven government and four private elementary schools in San Lucas.

                         78% of children attend elementary school, though maybe for only a year or two.
                         There are four full time junior high schools and two full time high schools in San Lucas
                                     (there are also two part time junior high/high schools, operating at weekends)

                        * 24% of the population goes to junior high (33% of the boys and 16% of the girls)
                          7.6% of the population goes on to study in high school
                    
* These figures are changing fast:-
                             in 1999 only 396 students enrolled in junior high: in 2002 some 1,133 students enrolled