Quality ed (1)

Education
Quality
The State of Education Series
March 2013
A Global Report

Summary
This presentation includes analysis of:
 Pupil-Teacher Ratios (PTRs)
 Repetition rates
 Primary Completion Rates (PCR)
 Learning Outcomes
 Youth Literacy Rates
 Adult Literacy Rates
 Gender/Income/Location disparities

Acronym Guide
Acronym Name
EAP East Asia and Pacific
ECA Europe and Central Asia
LAC Latin American and the Caribbean
MNA Middle East and North Africa
SAS South Asia
SSA Sub-Saharan Africa
WLD World (Global Aggregate)
PCR Primary Completion Rate
PTR Pupil-Teacher Ratio
GPI Gender Parity Index (female value/male value)
PISA Programme for International Student Assessment
TIMSS Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study
SACMEQ Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality
PASEC Programme d'Analyse des Systèmes Educatifs de la CONFEMEN
LLECE Latin American Laboratory for Assessment of the Quality of Education

Summary of Analysis
 Primary Pupil-Teacher Ratios (PTRs) have declined from
26 pupils per teacher in 1999 to 24 in 2011. SSA and SAS
have the highest PTRs (>40).
 Repetition rates in primary schools have decreased from
5.3% in 1999 to 4.8% in 2011. LAC and SSA have higher
repetition rates than other regions, and males have higher
repetition rates than females.
 Primary Completion Rates (PCRs) are highest in EAP,
LAC and ECA, which all have PCRs above 95%. The
global PCR lags behind at 90.3%. Low income is the
greatest barrier to primary and secondary completion.
 Adult and youth literacy rates have been improving over
time, but around 10% of youth and 16% of adults are not
literate. SAS and MNA have both improved literacy levels
greatly over time.

Which regions have higher pre-
primary pupil-teacher ratios?
 Globally, pre-primary
pupil-teacher ratios
(PTRs) have remained
steady since 1999 at
around 20 pupils per
teacher.
 ECA has the fewest
students per teacher:
PTRs ranged from 8 to
10 students over time.
 South Asia had the
highest PTRs as of
2007 at 40 students per
teacher. The next
closest region was SSA
at around 27 students
per teacher in 2011.
South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa have higher
pre-primary pupil-teacher ratios.
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011
Pupil-teacherratio.Pre-Primary
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, March 2013
EAP ECA LAC MNA SAS SSA WLD

Which countries have the highest
pre-primary pupil-teacher ratios?
 These countries
have between 35
and 57 pre-primary
students per
teacher.
 Eight of the 10
countries are in
SSA.
 Less than 11% of
children are enrolled
in pre-primary
education in 5 of
these countries.
 There are 22
countries with pre-
primary PTRs less
than 10. Most are in
ECA or are high
income countries.
10 Countries with the Highest
Pre-Primary Pupil-Teacher Ratios
(2006-2012)
Pupil-Teacher
Ratio. Pre-Primary
Net Enrolment Rate.
Pre-Primary
1 Tanzania 56.6 33.2
2 Central African Rep. 44.3 5.6
3 Mali 44.0 3.4
4 India 40.3
5 Bolivia 38.8 32.1
6 Rwanda 38.0 10.5
7 Eritrea 37.9 9.1
8 Angola 37.1 65.9
9 Ghana 36.4 47.5
10 Burundi 35.4 6.9
Note: Data is for the most recent available year; Black data are for 2011; Blue = 2010;
Purple = 2012; Data were not available for 58 of 214 countries.

Pupil-Teacher Ratio. Pre-Primary
(2006-2012)
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, 2013
Note: Data displayed is for the most recent available year
The maps displayed were produced by EdStats. The boundaries, colors, denominations and any
other information shown on this map do not imply, on the part of the World Bank Group, any
judgment on the legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries.
The maps are for reference only.

Which regions have higher
 Globally, primary pupil-
teacher ratios (PTRs)
have declined from 26
pupils per teacher in
1999 to 24 in 2011.
 SSA has the highest
PTR in 2011 at 43
pupils per teacher. SAS
also has a high PTR in
2009 at 40.
 All other regions have
PTRs less than 23 with
declining PTRs over
time.
 EAP has the fewest
students per teacher in
2011 (18) followed by
ECA at 19.
Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have the
highest primary pupil-teacher ratios.
16
18
20
22
24
26
28
30
32
34
36
38
40
42
44
46
1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011
Pupil-teacherratio.Primary

 These countries
have between 51
and 81 primary
students per
teacher.
 26 countries have
more than 40
primary pupils per
teacher. All of these
countries are in SSA
except Cambodia.
 There are 10
countries with
primary PTRs less
than 10 and 46
countries with PTRs
less than 15. Most
are high income
countries.
Primary Pupil-Teacher Ratios
(2006-2012)
Pupil-Teacher
Ratio. Primary
Adjusted Net Enrolment
Rate. Primary
2 Malawi 76.1 97.5
3 Chad 62.6 -
4 Rwanda 58.1 98.7
5 Zambia 58.0 92.7
6 Mozambique 55.4 89.8
7 Ethiopia 55.1 82.2
8 Burkina Faso 52.7 63.2
9 Guinea-Bissau 51.9 75.0
10 Tanzania 50.8 -
Data were not available for 35 of 214 countries.

Which countries have decreased
primary pupil-teacher ratios the most?
 These countries
have decreased their
primary pupil-
teacher ratios by 12
to 18 pupils per
teacher over time.
 The most current
PTR for all of these
countries except
Cameroon and
Ethiopia is less than
35 students per
teacher.
 Despite great
improvement,
Ethiopia still has
around 55 pupils per
teacher.
10 Countries with the
Most Improvement in Primary
Pupil-Teacher Ratios
Percentage
Points
Improved
1999-
2002
PTR
Most
current
PTR
%
Improved
1 Gabon 18.1 42.6 24.5 42.5
2 Timor-Leste 17.0 47.2 30.2 36.0
3 Senegal 16.0 48.9 32.9 32.6
4 Equatorial Guinea 15.4 43.4 27.9 35.6
5 Cameroon 15.4 60.8 45.4 25.3
6 Lesotho 13.2 47.0 33.8 28.1
7 Jamaica 13.2 33.8 20.6 39.0
8 Macao SAR, China 12.6 27.5 14.8 45.9
9 Bhutan 12.5 37.9 25.4 33.0
1
0
Ethiopia 12.3 67.3 55.1 18.2
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, March 2013;
Notes: Black data in “Most Current” column is 2011 data; Blue is 2010 data;

Pupil-Teacher Ratio. Primary
(2006-2012)

secondary pupil-teacher ratios?
 Globally, secondary
pupil-teacher ratios
(PTRs) have decreased
slightly from 18 pupils
per teacher in 1999 to
17 in 2011.
 SAS has the highest
PTR in 2011 at 26.4
pupils per teacher. This
is a sharp decrease
from 34 in 1999.
 SSA’s PTR is also
consistently higher than
most regions over time.
 ECA has the fewest
students per teacher in
2011 (11.7) followed by
EAP at 16 and LAC at
17.
Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have the
highest secondary pupil-teacher ratios.
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
28
30
32
34
1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011
Pupil-TeacherRatio.Secondary

secondary pupil-teacher ratios?
 These countries
have between 35
and 67 secondary
pupils per teacher.
 Eight of the 10
countries are in
SSA.
 Despite larger class
sizes, less than 15%
of children are
enrolled in
secondary education
in CAR, Angola, and
Niger.
 There are 34
countries with PTRs
less than 10. Most
are high income
countries.
Secondary Pupil-Teacher Ratios
(2006-2012)
Pupil-Teacher
Ratio. Secondary
Net Enrolment Rate.
Secondary
2 Malawi 42.1 27.5
3 Nepal 40.9 -
4 Ethiopia 40.3 -
5 Eritrea 39.5 28.6
6 Angola 38.7 11.5
7 Guinea-Bissau 37.3 -
8 Tanzania 35.2 -
9 Philippines 34.8 61.6
10 Niger 34.7 10.2
Green = 2009; Maroon = 2008; Data were not available for 58 countries.

secondary pupil-teacher ratios the
most?
 These countries have
decreased their
secondary pupil-
teacher ratios by 7 to
18 students/teacher
over time.
 After the large
decreases, these
countries have current
PTRs between 14 and
25 pupils per teacher
except Malawi (42)
and Eritrea (40).
 5 countries increased
PTRs by more than 10
pupils per teacher
over time: Nepal,
Tanzania, Solomon
Islands, Angola, and
Guinea-Bissau.
Most Improvement in
Secondary Pupil-Teacher Ratios
Percentage
Points
Improved
1999-
2002
PTR
Most
current
PTR
%
Improved
1 Malawi 17.7 59.8 42.1 29.6
2 Bhutan 11.9 32.4 20.5 36.6
3 Chile 10.7 32.6 21.9 32.8
4 Eritrea 9.8 49.3 39.5 19.9
5 Macao SAR, China 9.2 24.0 14.8 38.4
6 Vietnam 7.7 26.3 18.6 29.4
7 Belize 7.5 23.8 16.3 31.5
8 Mongolia 7.4 21.9 14.5 33.7
9 Cape Verde 7.3 24.5 17.2 29.7
1
0
India 7.0 32.3 25.3 21.6
Notes: Data were not available for 83 of 214 countries.

Pupil-Teacher Ratio. Secondary
(2006-2012)

Which regions have the highest
primary repetition rates?
 Globally, the percent of
repeaters in primary
schools has decreased
from 5.3% in 1999 to
4.8% in 2011.
 Repetition rates have
consistently been lowest
in ECA and EAP (less
than 2.3% over time).
 SSA and LAC have had
the highest levels of
repetition over time, but
both regions improved
from around 12% to
around 8% over time.
 SAS is the only region
with a higher current
repetition rate (4.9% in
2009) than in 1999
(4.7%).
Levels of primary repetition are higher in LAC
and SSA and lower in ECA and EAP.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011
Percentageofrepeatersinprimary.Allgrades.Total

repetition rates in primary?
 One third of students
repeat in Burundi and
almost ¼ repeat in
Comoros.
 All countries on the list
are in SSA. 17 out of the
top 20 are also in SSA.
Timor-Leste, Iraq, and
Suriname are the
exceptions.
 Six countries in the list
have decreased repetition
over time:
Madagascar, Congo, Les
otho, Togo, Chad, and
Comoros.
 Burundi’s repetition rate
has increased by almost
10 percentage points over
time from 26.3% in 2002
to 36.2% in 2011.
Primary Repetition Rates
(2006-2012)
1 Burundi 36.2
2 Comoros 24.4
3 Central African Republic 22.6
4 Chad 21.6
5 Togo 21.5
6 Lesotho 20.0
7 Malawi 19.6
8 Madagascar 19.4
9 Equatorial Guinea 19.3
10 Congo, Rep. 18.4
Note: Data were for the most recent available year; Black data is from 2011;
Blue = 2010; Data were not available for 56 of 214 countries.

primary repetition rates the most?
 These countries
primary repetition
rates by 8 to 22
percentage points
over time.
 9 of 10 countries are
in SSA.
more than halved
their repetition rates.
 Despite great
improvement, 7 of
the countries have
current repetition
rates higher than
10%.
10 Countries with the Largest Decreases
in Primary Repetition Rates
Percentage
Points
Decreased
1999-
2002
Repetition
Rate
Most
current
Repetition
Rate
%
Decreased
1 Rwanda 22.3 36.1 13.8 61.8
2 Mozambique 15.4 23.0 7.7 66.7
3
Sao Tome and
Principe
14.4 25.8 11.4 55.9
4 Cameroon 12.7 25.2 12.5 50.3
5 Madagascar 11.0 30.5 19.4 36.2
6 Benin 10.8 21.6 10.8 49.8
7 Senegal 10.7 13.6 3.0 78.1
8 Mauritania 10.6 14.1 3.5 75.5
9 Nepal 9.6 21.6 12.0 44.6
1
0
Guinea 8.2 20.8 12.7 39.2
Notes: Data were not available for 82 of 214 countries.

Primary Repetition Rate (%)
(2006-2012)

Do females repeat more than
males in primary schools?
 Globally, there is less
than half a percentage
point difference
between male/female
repetition rates. Males
repeat slightly more
than females.
 Males also repeat
more than females in
all regions except for
ECA.
 The greatest gender
disparity is in MNA at
2.5 percentage points.
 In SSA, there is almost
no difference in
repetition rates
between males and
females.
Males repeat more than females in all regions
except ECA.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Percentageofrepeatersinprimary.Allgrades
Male Female
Notes: SAS data is 2009; All other data is for 2011.

repetition rates in secondary?
 20 to 26% of all
secondary students are
repeaters in these
countries.
 9 of 10 countries are in
SSA.
 Togo’s repetition rates
has increased by 6
percentage points over
time. Benin, Chad, and
Burkina Faso also had
worsening repetition
rates.
 Burundi improved its
repetition rate by over
12 percentage points.
23
Secondary Repetition Rates
(2006-2012)
1 Togo 26.1
2 Burkina Faso 25.8
3 Burundi 24.2
4 Congo, Rep. 23.6
5 Benin 23.4
6 Sao Tome and Principe 21.3
7 Iraq 21.3
8 Mali 19.9
9 Chad 19.8
10 Cape Verde 19.7
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, March 2013; Notes: Data
displayed is for the most recent available year. Blue data is for 2007; Black =
2011; Green = 2009. Data were not available for 58 of 214 countries.

secondary repetition rates the most?
 These countries
secondary repetition
rates by 7 to 12
percentage points
over time.
more than halved
their repetition rates.
 Despite great
improvement, 6 of
the 10 countries
have current
repetition rates
higher than 10%.
10 Countries with the Largest
Decreases in Secondary Repetition
Rates
Percentage
Points
Decreased
1999-2002
Repetition
Rate
Most
current
Repetition
Rate
%
Decreased
1 Burundi 12.4 36.6 24.2 33.9
2 Eritrea 10.3 20.3 10.1 50.5
3 Guinea 9.2 23.7 14.6 38.6
4 Sri Lanka 8.5 9.2 0.7 92.8
5 Rwanda 8.2 11.8 3.6 69.8
6 Mozambique 7.7 21.5 13.7 36.0
7 Ethiopia 7.7 17.1 9.4 45.0
8 Guinea-Bissau 7.7 20.8 13.1 36.8
9 Bhutan 7.4 10.7 3.4 68.6
1
0
Congo, Rep. 7.2 30.8 23.6 23.4
Note: Data were not available for 93 of 214 countries.

Secondary Repetition Rate (%)
(2006-2012)

primary completion rates?
 90.3% of primary school
age students completed
primary school in 2011.
This is a 9.3 percentage
point increase since
1999.
 All regions have
improved their primary
completion rates (PCR)
over time.
 SAS had the largest
increase at 23.3
percentage points, but
still lags behind other
regions with 88% of
students completing
primary in 2011.
(continued on next slide)
Primary Completion Rates have been increasing
in all regions since 1999.
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
105
1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011
Primarycompletionrate.Total

primary completion rates? (continued)
 SSA also improved
greatly over time (17.8
percentage points) but
lagged far behind other
regions in 2011 with a
70% PCR.
 In 2011, LAC had the
highest share of primary
school age students
completing primary
school at 101.6%. PCRs
over 100% are typically
due to over/under age
students entering the last
grade of primary or
repetition.
Primary Completion Rates have been increasing
in all regions since 1999.
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
105
1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011
Primarycompletionrate.Total

Which countries have the lowest
primary completion rates?
 Less than half of
primary school age
children complete
primary school in the
top 7 countries.
 9 of 10 countries are in
SSA.
 All the countries on the
list have increased their
PCRs over time except
Uganda and Equatorial
Guinea.
 Niger and Mali have
increased their PCRs
the most over time – 25
and 21 percentage
points respectively.
29
10 Countries with the Lowest
Primary Completion Rates
(2006-2012)
1 Eritrea 38.0
2 Chad 38.2
4 Burkina Faso 45.1
5 Djibouti 45.8
6 Niger 46.2
7 Angola 46.6
8 Equatorial Guinea 51.7
9 Uganda 54.9
10 Mali 55.4
Notes: Data are for the most recent available data year; Black data are for
2011; Blue are for 2010; Data were not available for 45 countries.

Which countries have increased
primary completion rates the most?
 These countries
have increased their
primary completion
rates by 31 to 43
percentage points
over time.
more than doubled
their primary
completion rates.
 Despite great
improvement, 7 of
the 10 countries
have current primary
completion rates
less than 75%.
Most Improvement in
Primary Completion Rates
Percentage
Points
Improved
1999-2002
PCR
Most
current
PCR
%
Improved
1 Bhutan 42.9 52.2 95.1 82.1
2 Zambia 40.8 62.5 103.3 65.3
3 Rwanda 40.0 29.6 69.6 135.0
4 Guinea-Bissau 37.9 29.7 67.6 127.4
5 Sao Tome and
Principe
37.6 61.6 99.1 61.0
6 Madagascar 36.1 36.8 72.9 98.4
7 Burundi 34.9 27.3 62.1 127.8
8 Mozambique 33.9 22.3 56.2 151.7
9 Ethiopia 32.4 31.7 64.0 102.3
1
0
Mauritania 31.3 43.5 74.8 71.8
Note: Data were not available for 68 of 214 countries.

Primary Completion Rate (2006-
2012)

Are more boys completing primary
school than girls?
 Globally, more males
are completing primary
school than females.
The difference between
male/female PCRs has
shrunk from 6
percentage points in
1999 to 1.8 in 2011.
 In most regions, more
males complete primary
than females, but in
LAC and EAP, the
reverse is true.
 EAP's female PCR was
2.4 percentage points
higher than the male
PCR. LAC’s was 0.7
percentage points
higher for females.
Globally and in most regions, more males
complete primary school than females.
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
105
Primarycompletionrate.FemaleorMale
Male Female
Note: All data are for 2011 except EAP and SAS (2010).

Are more boys completing primary
school than girls? (continued)
 SSA has the largest
gender disparity in
PCRs with 74% of boys
completing vs. 67% of
girls in 2011.
 MNA also has a large
gender disparity at 6
percentage points
difference between the
genders.
 SAS had a large gender
disparity in 1999 (15
percentage points) but
decreased the
difference to 2.7
percentage points in
2010.
Globally and in most regions, more males
complete primary school than females.
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
105
Primarycompletionrate.FemaleorMale
Male Female
Note: All data are for 2011 except EAP and SAS (2010).

Primary Completion Rate. Female
(2006-2012)

Gender Parity Index for Primary
Completion Rate
(2006-2012)
Gender
Parity
Female
Bias
Male
Bias

Are there gender, income or location
disparities in primary completion rates?
 Gender disparities exist
in all regions in
PCRs, but they are
surpassed by income
disparities in all regions
except for ECA.
 The greatest disparities
exist in SSA, where
there is a 55 percentage
point difference between
the PCRs of top and
bottom quintile students.
This compares to a 33
point difference between
urban and rural, and 9
point between genders.
 In EAP and ECA, more
rural students complete
primary school than
urban students.2
Low income is the greatest source of disparity in
primary completion rates in all regions except ECA.
-5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
EAP ECA LAC MNA SAS SSA
PercentagePointDifferenceinPrimaryCompletionRate
(Male-Female,Urban-Rural,andQuintile1-Quintile5)
Gender disparity
Location disparity
Income disparity
Source: Estimated by Porta (2011) using data from Demographic and Health
Surveys, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, and Living Standards
Measurement Studies for 1985-2007

Are there gender, income or location
disparities in secondary completion rates?
 Low income is the
greatest source of
disparity in secondary
completion rates in all
regions. The disparity is
greatest in SAS (60
percentage points), LAC
(44), and SSA (40).
 Rural residence is a
source of disparity in
SAS (29 percentage
point disparity), LAC
(25), and SSA (22).
 A slightly higher
percentage of females
complete secondary in
ECA and LAC, but the
opposite is true in other
regions.2
Income is the greatest source of disparity in
secondary completion rates in all regions.
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
EAP ECA LAC MNA SAS SSA
PercentagePointDifferenceinSecondaryCompletionRate
(Male-Female,Urban-Rural,andQuintile1-Quintile5)
Gender disparity
Location disparity
Income disparity
Source: Estimated by Porta (2011) using data from Demographic and Health
Surveys, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, and Living Standards
Measurement Studies for 1985-2007

Lower Secondary Graduation Rate
(2006-2012)

Where are the greatest income
disparities in PISA math scores?
-30
-10
10
30
50
70
90
110
Iceland
Norway
Azerbaijan
Qatar
Montenegro
Macao-China
Slovenia
Finland
Australia
Canada
ChineseTaipei
Sweden
Japan
Switzerland
Denmark
Estonia
Russia
Ireland
UnitedKingdom
Netherlands
Greece
HongKong-China
Spain
Italy
Austria
Kyrgyzstan
Serbia
Liechtenstein
SlovakRepublic
Luxembourg
Latvia
Poland
Germany
CzechRepublic
Korea
NewZealand
Hungary
France
Lithuania
Jordan
Romania
Belgium
Indonesia
Bulgaria
UnitedStates
Tunisia
Thailand
Mexico
Portugal
Turkey
Colombia
Uruguay
Chile
Argentina
Brazil
PointsDifferencebetweenQuintile5and1onPISAMathScale
Source: Porta and Mcdonald based on Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA 2009) data, 2010
Richer students have higher scores in all but 3 countries – Iceland, Norway, and
Azerbaijan. The greatest income disparities are in 5 Latin American countries –
Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Colombia.

 5th graders in
Gabon (61.4) and
Cameroon (53.4)
scored the highest
on the French
language
assessment.
 Gabon’s mean
score almost
doubled Benin and
Chad’s scores (31.6
and 31.7
respectively).
 Only three countries
scored higher than
40 on a 100 point
scale.
Mean Reading Scores vary greatly across
Francophone African countries.
How do reading levels vary between
African countries?
Source: Programme d'Analyse des Systèmes Educatifs de la CONFEMEN in
EdStats, August 2011.
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
MeanperformanceontheFrenchlanguagescale
(100possiblepoints)for5thgradestudents(2004-2009)

 Tanzania, Seychelles, a
nd Mauritius had the
highest reading scores in
2007.
 Mauritius and Tanzania
both improved their
scores, but Seychelles’
score was lower than in
2000.
 Some countries have
large disparities between
genders, but in these
cases, females have
higher scores than
males
(Seychelles, Mauritius
and Botswana).
 Malawi and Zambia have
had the lowest scores
over time.
Mean reading scores of 6th grade students vary
greatly between Anglophone African countries.
How do reading levels vary between
African countries?
420
440
460
480
500
520
540
560
580
600
620
Meanperformanceonthereadingscale(2000&2007)
2000 Total Male 2007 Female 2007 Total 2007
Source: Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality
(SACMEQ) in EdStats, August 2011; Note: Zimbabwe 2000 is 1995 figure.

How do reading scores vary between
income groups in African countries?
 In all SACMEQ
countries, students
from the lowest income
quintile have lower
reading scores than
students in the highest
income quintile, but the
scale of income
disparity varies greatly.
 South Africa has the
largest disparity
between richest and
poorest followed by
Namibia.
 Lesotho, Mozambique,
and Malawi seem to
have the less of a
disparity between
income groups in
reading scores.
400
425
450
475
500
525
550
575
600
625
MeanScoreonReadingAssessment
Source: Filmer using Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for
Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) 2000 database
Richest quintile of students Poorest quintile of students
Average score
Poorer students have lower mean reading scores in
all Anglophone African countries.

 El
Salvador, Nicaragua, C
osta
Rica, Peru, Guatemala,
and Colombia are
within 5 percentage
points of gender parity.
Female scores are
higher than male scores
in these countries.
 Uruguay has the largest
difference between
male/female reading
scores with a 19.6
percentage point male
bias.
 Panama (15.9), Brazil
(15.7), Cuba (15.2), and
the Dominican Rep.
(15.1) also have large Source: Latin American Laboratory for Assessment of the Quality of
Education (LLECE SERCE) in StatPlanet, August 2011
Have LAC countries reached gender
parity in reading levels?
Difference between Male/Female Mean Scores on
the 6th Grade Reading Assessment (2006)

 In all countries, mean
scores for rural students
are lower than for urban
students.
 The greatest location
disparity is in Peru (79)
followed by Mexico (58).
 Cuba has the smallest
disparity between
rural/urban areas (13)
followed by Nicaragua
(21).
 The scale of disparity
between urban/rural
scores is much higher
than the disparity
between male/female
scores.
Source: Latin American Laboratory for Assessment of the Quality of
Education (LLECE SERCE) in StatPlanet, August 2011
Does rural/urban residence impact
6th grade reading levels in LAC?
Difference between Urban/Rural Mean Scores on
the 6th Grade Reading Assessment (2006)

Have youth literacy rates improved
over time?
 Global youth literacy
rates have improved
from 83.3% (1985-2004)
to 89.6% (2005-2010) or
6.3 percentage points.
 Still, around 10% of
youth emerge from
education systems
around the world without
basic literacy skills.
 All regions showed
improvement in youth
literacy rates over time.
 SAS showed the most
dramatic improvement
from 58% to 79.5% -- a
21 percentage point
improvement.
Youth literacy rates have been increasing in
all regions over time.
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
Youthliteracyrate(%).Total
1985-1994
1995-2004
2005-2010

 ECA has consistently
had the highest youth
literacy rate ranging
from 98-99%.
 Over time, EAP has
almost caught up to
ECA’s high youth
literacy levels and LAC
trails closely behind.
More than 97% of
youth are literate in
these regions.
 More 25% of youth are
illiterate in SSA, but
this is a 6 percentage
point improvement
over 1985-1995.
Have youth literacy rates improved
over time? (continued)
Youth literacy rates have been increasing in
all regions over time.
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
Youthliteracyrate(%).Total
1985-1994
1995-2004
2005-2010

youth literacy rates?
 Less than half of youth
are literate in Burkina
Faso, Mali and Chad.
 All of the countries with
the lowest literacy rates
are in SSA.
 Of the 142 countries with
data, 22 countries have
youth literacy rates less
than 75%. All are in SSA
except for
Pakistan, Haiti, and
Papua New Guinea.
 89 countries have youth
literacy rates higher than
95%.
Youth Literacy Rates
(2006-2010)
1 Burkina Faso 39.3
2 Mali 44.3
3 Chad 47.0
4 Benin 55.0
5 Ethiopia 55.0
6 Sierra Leone 59.4
7 Guinea 63.4
8 Madagascar 64.9
9 Congo, Dem. Rep. 65.0
10 Senegal 65.0
Note: Data were not available for 72 countries. Most recent data year is
displayed; Black = 2010; Green = 2009; Blue = 2007.

Which countries have increased youth
literacy rates the most over time?
increased their youth
literacy rates by 10 to
16 percentage points
over time.
in SSA.
 Despite great
improvement, only 4
of 10 countries have
youth literacy rates
higher than 75%.
 Four countries’ rates
worsened by more
than 2% over the
same period: Iraq,
Madagascar, Haiti,
and Congo, Dem.
Rep.
Most Improvement in
Youth Literacy Rates
Percentage
Points
Improved
1999-
2004
Rate
2006-
2010
Rate
%
Improved
1 Guinea 16.3 47.1 63.4 34.6
2 Senegal 15.9 49.1 65.0 32.4
3 Gambia, The 14.1 52.6 66.7 26.8
4 Bangladesh 13.4 63.6 77.0 21.1
5 Nepal 13.0 70.1 83.1 18.5
6 Guinea-Bissau 12.6 59.5 72.1 21.2
7 Sierra Leone 11.5 47.9 59.4 24.0
8 Eritrea 11.4 77.9 89.3 14.6
9 Ghana 10.1 70.7 80.8 14.3
1
0
Mozambique 9.9 61.9 71.8 16.0
Notes: Data are most current available year within the time period;

Youth Literacy Rate. Total
(2006-2010)

Is there disparity between
genders in youth literacy rates?
 Globally, there is still a
gender gap in youth
literacy rates, though the
gap has been shrinking
over time.
 There was a 8.6%
difference between male
and female youth literacy
rates during 1985-1994.
 The gender gap shrunk
by 41.5% to 5.0% during
2005-2010. 92% of
males were literate
compared to 87% of
females.
Fewer females emerge from education
systems with basic literacy skills than males.
87.6
90.4
92.2
79.0
83.9
87.1
70
75
80
85
90
95
1985-1994 1995-2004 2005-2010
YouthLiteracyRate(%)
Male Female

Are gender disparities in youth
literacy rates decreasing?
 Gender disparities
between male and
female youth literacy
rates have decreased in
all regions.
 EAP, ECA, and LAC
have achieved almost
perfect gender parity
(1.0), while
MNA, SAS, and SSA
lag behind.
 SAS and MNA have
improved greatly over
time: They moved 0.17
and 0.14 closer to
gender parity.
 Progress in SSA has
been slower with only
0.09 improvement.
Gender disparities in youth literacy rates have
decreased over time in all regions.
0.90
0.93
0.95
0.65
0.70
0.75
0.80
0.85
0.90
0.95
1.00
1.05
1985-1994 1995-2004 2005-2010
GenderParityIndex(GPI)forYouthLiteracyRate

Gender Parity Index for Youth
Literacy Rate
(2006-2010)
Gender
Parity
Male
Bias
Male
Bias
Male
Bias

Which countries have the
lowest female literacy rates?
 The 20 lowest female
youth literacy rates
were all found in Sub-
Saharan African
countries except for
Pakistan.
 Only 1/3 of female
youth are literate in
Burkina Faso and Mali.
 Less than half of
female youth are
literate in the top 5
countries.
Female Youth Literacy Rates
(2006-2010)
1 Burkina Faso 33.1
2 Mali 33.9
3 Chad 40.6
4 Benin 44.6
5 Ethiopia 47.0
6 Sierra Leone 50.1
7 Senegal 56.2
8 Guinea 57.0
10 Pakistan 61.5
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, March 2013; Note:
Data points are the most recent year available: Green = 2009; Blue =
2007; Black = 2010; Data were not available for 71 countries.

Which countries have increased female
youth literacy rates the most over time?
increased their female
youth literacy rates by
14 to 23 percentage
points over time.
in SSA and 2 are in
SAS.
 Despite great
improvement, only 4
of 10 countries have
female youth literacy
rates higher than
75%.
 Haiti’s female youth
literacy rate worsened
over the period by 10
percentage points.
Most Improvement in
Female Youth Literacy Rates
Percentage
Points
Improved
1999-
2004
Rate
2006-
2010
Rate
%
Improved
1 Guinea 22.9 34.1 57.0 67.2
2 Gambia, The 20.3 41.4 61.7 49.1
3 Guinea-Bissau 19.4 45.9 65.3 42.3
4 Nepal 18.2 60.1 78.4 30.3
5 Bangladesh 18.2 60.3 78.5 30.3
6 Chad 17.3 23.2 40.6 74.6
7 Eritrea 17.2 69.5 86.7 24.7
8 Senegal 15.2 41.0 56.2 37.2
9 Mozambique 15.0 50.0 65.1 30.0
1
0
Ghana 14.4 65.5 79.9 22.0

Youth Literacy Rate. Female
(2006-2010)

Have adult literacy rates improved
over time?
 Global adult literacy
rates improved from
75.7% to 84.1% -- an 8
percentage point
increase over time.
 Still, 16% of adults have
emerged from
education systems
without basic literacy
skills.
 All regions showed
improvement in adult
literacy rates, but MNA
improved the most from
56% to 76% -- a 20
percentage point
increase over time.
Adult literacy rates have been increasing over
the years in all regions.
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
Adultliteracyrate(%).Total
1985-1994
1995-2004
2005-2010

Have adult literacy rates improved
over time? (continued)
 ECA has consistently
had the highest adult
literacy rates (95%+).
 More than 1/3 of adults
are illiterate in SAS
and SSA, but SAS
improved from 46% to
62% – a 16 percentage
point increase.
 SSA has improved
more slowly than SAS
at 8.4 percentage
points of improvement
over time.
Adult literacy rates have been increasing over the
years in all regions.
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
Adultliteracyrate(%).Total
1985-1994
1995-2004
2005-2010

adult literacy rates?
 9 of the 10 countries
with the lowest adult
literacy rates are in
SSA. Haiti is the
exception.
 Less than one third of
adults are literate in Mali
and Burkina Faso.
 Of the 149 countries
with data, 20 countries
have adult literacy rates
less than 60% and 43
countries have adult
literacy rates less than
75%.
 75 countries have adult
literacy rates higher than
90%.
10 Countries with the Lowest Adult
Literacy Rates
(2006-2010)
1 Burkina Faso 28.7
2 Mali 31.1
3 Chad 34.5
4 Ethiopia 39.0
5 Guinea 41.0
6 Sierra Leone 42.1
7 Benin 42.4
8 Haiti 48.7
9 Senegal 49.7
10 Gambia, The 50.0
Note: Data were not available for 71 countries. Data are for the most recent
available year. Purple = 2006; Blue = 2007; Green = 2009; Black = 2010.

Which countries have increased adult
literacy rates the most over time?
increased their adult
literacy rates by 9 to
21 percentage points
over time.
in SSA.
 Despite great
improvement, at least
30% of adults were
illiterate in all these
countries except
Sudan.
 Haiti’s adult literacy
rate worsened by 10
percentage points,
and Madagascar’s by
6 percentage points.
Most Improvement in
Adult Literacy Rates
Percentage
Points
Improved
1999-
2004
Rate
2006-
2010
Rate
%
Improved
1 Timor-Leste 20.7 37.6 58.3 55.1
2 Eritrea 15.3 52.5 67.8 29.1
3 Gambia, The 13.1 36.8 50.0 35.7
4 Guinea-Bissau 12.8 41.4 54.2 31.0
5 Nepal 11.7 48.6 60.3 24.1
6 Guinea 11.3 29.7 41.0 38.2
7 Senegal 10.4 39.3 49.7 26.5
8 Sudan 9.7 61.3 71.1 15.8
9 Ghana 9.4 57.9 67.3 16.2
1
0
Bangladesh 9.3 47.5 56.8 19.6
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, March 2013;

Adult Literacy Rate. Total
(2006-2010)

Is there disparity between
genders in adult literacy rates?
 Globally, there is still a
gender gap in adult
literacy rates, though the
gap has been shrinking
over time.
 There was a 12.6%
difference between male
(82%) and female
(69.4%) adult literacy
rates during 1985-1994.
 The gender gap shrunk
by 29% to 8.9% during
2005-2010. 88.6% of
males were literate
compared to 79.7% of
females.
Fewer adult females have basic literacy skills,
but the gender gap has decreased over time.
82.0
86.9
88.6
69.4
76.9
79.7
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1985-1994 1995-2004 2005-2010
AdultLiteracyRate(%)
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, Mar. 2013
Male Female

Have gender disparities in adult
literacy rates decreased over time?
 Gender disparities in
adult literacy rates have
decreased over time in
all regions.
 ECA and LAC have
achieved gender parity
with GPIs at 0.98.
 MNA, SAS, and EAP
have made the most
progress by moving
0.16, 0.13, and 0.13
closer to 1.0 (gender
parity) respectively.
 Progress in SSA has
been slower with only
0.09 improvement.
 SAS, SSA, and MNA are
furthest from gender
parity in adult literacy.
All regions are moving closer to gender parity
in adult literacy rates.
0.85 0.88 0.90
0.50
0.55
0.60
0.65
0.70
0.75
0.80
0.85
0.90
0.95
1.00
1.05
1985-1994 1995-2004 2005-2010
GenderParityIndex(GPI)forAdultLiteracyRate

Which countries have the
lowest female literacy rates?
 Less than one quarter
of females are literate
in the top 3 countries –
Mali, Burkina
Faso, and Chad. Less
than one third of
females are literate in
the top 7 countries.
 All the countries on the
list are in SSA except
Pakistan.
 Of the 144 countries
with data, 19 countries
have female adult
literacy rates less than
50% and 70 countries
have rates higher than
90%.
Female Adult Literacy Rates
(2006-2010)
1 Mali 20.3
2 Burkina Faso 21.6
3 Chad 24.2
4 Ethiopia 28.9
5 Guinea 30.0
6 Benin 30.3
7 Sierra Leone 31.4
8 Senegal 38.7
9 Pakistan 40.3
10 Gambia, The 40.4
Note: Data were not available for 71 countries. Data are for the most recent
available year. Blue = 2007; Green = 2009; Black = 2010.

Which countries have increased female
adult literacy rates the most over time?
increased their female
adult literacy rates by
11 to 23 percentage
points over time.
 Six of the countries are
in SSA; 2 are in SAS.
 Despite great
improvement, more
than 1/3 of women are
illiterate in all of these
countries except Saudi
Arabia.
 Haiti’s rate worsened
by 10.3 percentage
points over time.
Most Improvement in
Female Adult Literacy Rates
Percentage
Points
Improved
1999-
2004
Rate
2006-
2010
Rate
%
Improved
1 Timor-Leste 23.0 30.0 53.0 76.5
2 Eritrea 17.3 40.2 57.5 43.1
3 Gambia, The 15.4 25.1 40.4 61.4
4 Nepal 13.5 34.9 48.3 38.6
5 Guinea-Bissau 13.1 27.5 40.6 47.7
6 Saudi Arabia 12.1 69.3 81.3 17.4
7 Guinea 11.8 18.2 30.0 64.7
8 Ghana 11.4 49.8 61.2 22.9
9 Bangladesh 11.4 40.8 52.2 27.9
1
0
Chad 11.4 12.8 24.2 89.0

Adult Literacy Rate. Female
(2006-2010)

This presentation utilizes the following data sources:
1) UNESCO Institute for Statistics data in the EdStats Query
 The presentation was created with the most recent UIS data release that included
2011 data for most indicators/countries and 2012 data for 3 countries:
Kazakhstan, Sao Tome and Principe, and Ghana.
 Indicators were calculated by UIS according to definitions available in the EdStats
Query.
2) Income/Gender/Location Disparity slides were based on data extracted
from:
 Demographic and Health Surveys, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, and Living
Standards Measurement Studies for 1985-2007; Reports were generated through
ADePT Edu by Emilio Porta (2011).
 Porta, Emilio, Gustavo Arcia, Kevin Macdonald, Sergiy Radyakin, and Misha
Lokshin. 2011. Assessing Sector Performance and Inequality in Education.
Washington, DC: World Bank.
3) Learning Outcome Data from the EdStats Query:
 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)
 Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality
(SACMEQ)
 Latin American Laboratory for Assessment of the Quality of Education (LLECE
SERCE)
 Programme d'Analyse des Systèmes Educatifs de la CONFEMEN (PASEC)
Data Sources

The State of Education Series
The following State of Education presentations
are available on the EdStats website:
Educational Levels:
 Pre-Primary Education
 Primary Education
 Secondary Education
 Tertiary Education
Topics:
 Access
 Quality
 Expenditures
 Gender
 Literacy

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