The population of Oaxaca is very young. Persons ages 5 to 20 years account for 40% of the total population, or 1,199,154 inhabitants. Persons under 20 years of age account for 53.3% of the total population (INEGI, 1990). Since 1970 there has been a decline in the 0-4 years and 5-10 years age brackets due to the decline in average fertility.

The children and young people of Oaxaca live in very extreme and extreme poverty; they suffer even more than the rest of the population from the high degrees of marginality characteristic of rural Oaxaca.

State indicators for employment, health, education, housing, and services are below the national average. After Chiapas, Oaxaca is considered the state with the second worst set of social indicators. In figures, this means that 30% of the population lives in highly marginalized conditions (17% nationally), and 75% experience highly marginalized conditions. In a similar vein, 98% of the children live in localities with less than 2,500 inhabitants. According to data from the 1990 census and from the 1990 National Population Council study on information systems on marginality in Mexico, 52.5% of the population lives in dwellings with dirt floors, 70% of the housing units have no drainage, 49% have no access to drinking water, 24% have no electricity, and 70% of the dwellings are considered overcrowded.¹¹

Throughout Mexico there has been a dramatic decline in purchasing power over the last ten years. In 1990, twice the minimum salary was not enough to cover basic household necessities; in 1995, after a new financial crisis, it is estimated that purchasing power will decline 30% to 40%.