Although the militants of the First Republic had chosen education as one of their banner causes, the evidence shows that the more democratic First Republic was less successful than the authoritarian "Estado Novo" in expanding elementary education. Under the First Republic, literacy levels in children aged 7 to 14 registered a modest increase from 26 per cent in 1911 to 33 per cent in 1930. Under the "Estado Novo", literacy levels in children aged 7 to 14 increased to 56 per cent in 1940, 77 per cent in 1950 and 97 per cent in 1960.