A recent report from the Bureau of Justice states

by **rustom.hakimiyan** Wed Nov 05, 2014 9:47 pm

A recent report from the Bureau of Justice states although only a fraction of a percent of the American population is in prison, approximately one out of every thirty two Americans are either in prison or on parole or probation.

a)although only a fraction of a percent of the American population is in prison, approximately one out of every thirty two Americans are either in prison or on parole or probation.

b)that while less than a percent of the American population is in prison, one out of every thirty two Americans are either in prison, on parole, or on probation.

c)that although less than one out of every one hundred American people are in prison, more than three percent of Americans are either in prison, on parole, or on probation.

d)that while only a fraction of a percent of the American population is in prison, one out of every thirty two Americans is either in prison, on parole, or on probation.

e)while only a fraction of a percent of the American population is in prison, one out of every thirty two Americans is either in prison, on parole, or probation.

Hi,

Question on B -- I realize that the Subject Verb pair is off but what about "less than a percent of the population".

Less is a countable noun. Are we using less to refer to the population or percent? If it's population, then the usage of less should be fine. On the flipside, if we are using it for percent, then "less" is incorrect. is my understanding accurate?

Thanks!