An Analysis of Key Aspects of the Illiterate Ecuadorian Population Aged 15 Years and Older

This article aims to provide an analysis of several aspects that comprise the profile of the Ecuadorian population aged 15 years old and over who do not know how to read and write. The approach, employed in this research study, focuses on a descriptive analysis and a multidimensional statistical analysis. Available data from the National Survey of Employment, Unemployment and Underemployment of Ecuador (ENEMDU), conducted by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) in 2016, was utilized as the main source of information in the study. One of the previous surveys, conducted in the country in 2006, suggested that the equivalent percentage of the illiterate population was 8.63%; therefore, these data indicate that the population under examination has decreased considerably in the last ten years. This means that a highly important enhancement in terms of literacy has occurred over this period of time in Ecuador. The study results, drawn from the descriptive analysis and the hierarchical analysis carried out as part of this research, may be key at the moment of creating policies, educational campaings and nationwide, special programs focused on helping reduce and eliminate illiteracy across the nation in the upcoming years.


Introduction
The objective of this study is to analyze different aspects (e.g., langauges spoken, school attendance, level of instruction, use of computer and the Internet, occupational fields, just to mention a few) that make up the profile of the 5.65% of the Ecuadorian population aged fifteen years old and over (660916 people), who do not know how to read and write (INEC, 2016).In the year 2006 the equivalent percentage was 8.63% (798094 people), which means that during the last ten years there has been a decrease of 17.19% of the population who does not how to read and write (INEC, 2006).Although, a significant improvement was shown between 2006 and 2016, there is still an important challenge to overcome, since 660916 Ecuadorians are still illiterate.
showing a classification in different clusters.The method used was the hierarchical clustering that defines the clusters of people based on their answers and common characteristics.This method also presents a classification figure that links these clusters (Valdivieso et al., 2017;Stefos, 2015).
The software R and the software SPAD v.4.5 were employed for the data analysis; the latter was offered by the Faculty of Humanities of the University of the Aegean (Stefos & Koulianidi, 2016).

The Descriptive Analysis
42.16% of Ecuadorian population aged 15 years old and over, who do not know how to read and write, live in urban areas, while 57.84% live in rural areas (Table 1).39.19% of the population aged 15 years old and over are men and 60.81% of the population is women (Table 2).4.30% of the population is between 15 and 24 years old, 7.69% are between 25 and 34 years old, 10.11% are between 35 and 44 years old, 14.33% are between 45 and 54 years old, 19.01%are between 55 and 64 years old, 21.15% are between 65 and 74 years old, 15.79% are between 75 and 84 years old, 7.27% are between 85 and 97 years old, and 0.34% are 98 years old and over (Table 3).0.75% of the population aged 15 years old and over attended school, while 99.25% of the population did not attend school (Table 5).39.79% of the population aged 15 years old and over did not attend school because of their age; 0.38% of the population, due to completion of studies; 15.00%, due to lack of economic resources; 0.63%, as a result of school failure; 17.57%, because of job responsibilities; 9.47%, due to health and disability issues; 4.79%, as a result of assisting in household chores; 0.92%, because their families did not allow them to study; 0.63%, due to lack of educational institutions; 8.64%, as a result of a lack of interest in studying; 0.01%, because of pregnancy; 0.02%, due to space availability at school; 0.01%, because of fear of peer intimidation; 1.17%, as a result of looking after children; and 0.22%, due to other reasons (Table 6).68.84% of the population aged 15 years old and over have no level of schooling.With regard to the instruction level of the rest of the population, 3.18% attended literacy center, 26.96% attended primary school, and 1.02% attended basic education (Table 7).0.81% of the population aged 15 years old and over attended school less than one year, 14.35% of the population attended school for one year, 14.77% attended school for two years, 0.65% attended school for three years, 0.36% attended school for four years, 0.002% attended school for five years, 0.21% attended school for 6 years, and 0.01% attended school for ten years (Table 8).1.60% of the population aged 15 years old and over speak indigenous language only, 18.38% of the population speaks indigenous language and the Spanish language, 77.81% speak Spanish only, 0.13% speak Spanish and a foreign language, 0.07% speak indigenous language and a foreign language, 0.12% speak a foreign language only, and 1.90% do not speak (Table 9).32.00% of the population aged 15 years old and over have an active cell phone, while 61.82% have no cell phone (Table 12).1.54% of the population aged 15 years old and over have a smartphone, while 30.64% have no smartphone (Table 13).1.12% of the population aged 15 years old and over have used a computer during the last 12 months, while 92.70% of the population has not used a computer during the last 12 months (Table 14).1.28% of the population aged 15 years old and over have used the Internet during the last 12 months, while 92.54% of the population has not used the Internet during the last 12 months (Table 15).47.51% of the population aged 15 years old and over live in the highlands, 48.38% of the population lives in the pacific coast region, and 4.11% live in the amazon region (Table 16).62.87% of the population aged 15 years old and over do not consider themselves to be poor based on their income, while 36.52% of the population considers themselves as poor (Table 18).85.96% of the population aged 15 years old and over do not consider themselves to be indigent based on their income, while 13.43% of the population considers themselves as indigent (Table 19).

Hierarchical Analysis
The hierarchical clustering led to the formation of six clusters, which are graphically represented in the figure below (Papapostolou & Stefos, 2013).Second cluster, 25.33% of the population Persons from the second cluster are economically inactive, housewives, and they declared they do not attend school because of their age.
Third cluster, 12.87% of the population Persons from this cluster consider themselves as indigenous, live in rural areas and in the Amazon region, speak indigenous language only, are poor, and work in agriculture and ranching.
Fourth cluster, 18.75% of the population Persons from the fourth cluster live in the pacific coast region, are in a common law relationship, speak Spanish only, and have an active cell phone.
Fifth cluster, 31.62% of the population The fifth cluster is made up of persons who responded they live in the highlands, work in culture and ranching, and speak Spanish and indigenous language.
Sixth cluster, 5.39% of the population Persons from the sixth cluster responded that they are single, disabled, economically inactive, and live in the urban area.
The differences of the aforementioned clusters are shown in Figure 2, where the graphic of Correspondence Analysis (factorial level 1x2) presents the centroids of the six clusters in both axes (Stefos & Papapostolou, 2013).In addition, it defines the differences and the similarities among the persons of the six clusters.

Conclusions
The objective of this study was the analysis of the social profile of the Ecuadorian population aged 15 years old and over, who do not know how to read and write.Within the framework of the study, a multidimensional statistical analysis was carried out, which confirmed the results of the descriptive analysis (Papapostolou et al., 2013;Stefos et al., 2011).
The majority of Ecuadorians aged 14 years old and over who do not know how to read and write are women (60.81%).63.56% of the population is over 54 years old, 34.61% are married and 20.78% are in a common law relationship.Only 0.75% of the population attends school, 39.79% do not go to school because of their age; 17.57%, due to job responsibilities; 15.00%, due to lack of economic resources; and 9.47%, due to health and disability issues.Additionally, the information shows that 14.35% of the population went to school for one year and 14.77% went to school for 2 years.63.07% of the population is mestizos, 21.63% are indigenous, 9.00% are montubios, 19.47% are disabled, and 18.96% are housewives.In addition, it was found that 32.00% have an active cell phone, 1.54% have a smartphone, 1.12% have used a computer during the last 12 months, and 1.28% have used the Internet.The information also indicates that 36.18% of the population works in agriculture, ranching, hunting, forestry, and fishing, and 5.41% work in trade business and automobile reparation.36.53% of the population considers themselves as poor and 13.43% as indigent (Castellano et al., 2017).

Table 1 .
Area of residence

Table 3
61% of the population aged 15 years old and over are married, 7.94% of the population is separated, 1.59% are divorced, 19.29% are widowed, 20.78% are in a common law relationship, and 15.80% are single (Table4).

Table 6 .
Reasons for truancy

Table 7 .
Level of instruction

Table 8 .
Number of school years passed

Table 12 .
Possessing an active cell phone

Table 13 .
Cell phone type-smartphone

Table 14 .
Use of computer during the last 12 months

Table 15 .
Use of the Internet during the last 12 months

Table 16 .
Natural region

Table 18 .
Poverty based on income

Table 19 .
Extreme poverty based on income 19% of the population aged 15 years old and over have suitable employment, 8.21% of the population is underemployed because of insufficiency of time, 2.03% are underemployed due to low income, 27.84% have other unsuitable job; 9.73% have unpaid jobs; 0.99% are open unemployed; 0.35% are hidden unemployed, and 43.65% are economically inactive (Table20).