Primary ed

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

Summary
This presentation includes data on:
 Enrollments
 Out of School Children (OOS) of primary
school age
 Income/Gender/Location Disparities
 Pupil/Teacher Ratios
 Repetition
 Primary Completion
 Learning Outcomes
 Education Expenditures on Primary Education

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)
NER Net Enrollment Rate
ANER Adjusted Net Enrollment Rate
OOS Out of School
GDP p.c. Gross Domestic Product per capita
GNI Gross National Income
NAR Net Attendance Rate
PTR Pupil-Teacher Ratio
PCR Primary Completion Rate
GPI Gender Parity Index (female value/male value)

How many children are enrolled in
primary schools?
 Around 691 million
children were enrolled in
primary school in 2010.
This is up from 685
million in 2005 and 655
million in 2000.
 Over half of enrolled
students were in either
SAS or EAP (182 and
172 million respectively).
 21% of total primary
enrollments were in India
and 15% were in China.
 330 million (47.7%) were
girls.
EAP
24.9%
ECA
3.0%
LAC
9.6%
MNA
5.5%
SSA
20.0%
SAS
26.4%
HIC
10.6%
Share of Total Primary Enrollments
by Region (%)
2010
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, November 2012
Notes: Regional aggregates are World Bank regions;
HIC = high income countries in all geographic regions.

 In 2010, 90.7% of
primary school age
children around the
world were enrolled in
primary or secondary
education.
 This figure rose each
year between 1999
(83.7%) and 2008, but
the figure remained
unchanged between
2008 and 2010.
 All regions have
increased ANERs since
2000, but SSA and SAS
improved the most – 16
percentage points in
SSA and 14 percentage
points in SAS.
Continued…
Have primary enrolments improved?
Primary – Adjusted Net Enrollment Rates (ANER)
Primary Enrolment Rates have increased since
2000, but little progress has been made since 2008.
84.5
85.5
88.7 89.1
90.7 90.7
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010
AdjustedNetEnrolmentRate.Primary.Total(%)
EAP ECA LAC MNA SAS SSA WLD

 Since 2008, SSA has
only improved by 0.1%
and SAS by 0.4%.
 SAS's improvement
moved it closer to other
regions by 2010
(92.3%), but SSA still
lags far behind with a
ANER of 76.2% in
2010.
 ECA’s ANER peaked in
2002 at 96.6% and has
been lower since.
 EAP and LAC are the
only 2 regions with
ANERs higher than
95% in 2010.
Have primary enrolments improved?
Primary – Adjusted Net Enrollment Rates (ANER)
84.5
85.5
88.7 89.1
90.7 90.7
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010
AdjustedNetEnrolmentRate.Primary.Total(%)
Primary Enrolment Rates have increased since
2000, but little progress has been made since 2008.

Which countries have the lowest
primary enrollment rates?
 In the top 2 countries
(Eritrea and
Djibouti), less than half
of primary school age
children are enrolled in
primary school.
 All of the countries with
the lowest adjusted net
enrollment rates (ANER)
are in SSA except
Djibouti.
 Of the 20 countries with
the lowest primary
ANERs,15 are in SSA.
 There is a large range
among the listed
countries: #10 Gambia’s
ANER almost doubles
#1 Eritrea’s.
10 Countries with the Lowest
Primary Enrollment Rates
(2009-2011)
1 Eritrea 34.9
2 Djibouti 44.6
3 Equatorial Guinea 56.3
4 Nigeria 57.6
5 Cote d'Ivoire 61.5
6 Niger 62.5
7 Burkina Faso 63.2
8 Mali 67.2
9 Central African Republic 68.9
10 Gambia, The 69.3
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, Nov 2012
Notes: Data is Adjusted Net Enrolment Rate. Primary (ANER);
Purple figures are for 2011; Black = 2010; Blue = 2009.
Data were not available for 67 of 214 countries.

Which countries have increased
primary enrollment rates the most?
 These countries have
increased their
primary ANERs by 22
to 42 percentage
points between
1999/2000 and
2010/2011.
 Ethiopia and Niger
more than doubled
their ANERs, but more
than 1/3 of children
are still not enrolled in
Niger.
 Only Zambia has
increased its ANER to
over 90%. All the
countries need to
continue improving to
reach universal
primary enrolment.
10 Countries with the Most
Improvement in Primary
Enrollment Rates
Percentage
Points
Improved
1999/
2000
ANER
2010/
2011
ANER
% Improved
1 Ethiopia 41.8 40.4 82.2 103.4
2 Niger 35.4 27.1 62.5 130.5
3 Mozambique 33.9 56.0 89.8 60.5
4 Bhutan 30.8 58.5 89.3 52.7
5 Guinea 30.1 46.9 77.0 64.1
6 Burkina Faso 28.7 34.5 63.2 83.0
7 Mali 25.0 42.2 67.2 59.1
8 Guinea-Bissau 23.8 51.2 75.0 46.5
9 Zambia 21.7 71.0 92.7 30.6
10 Yemen, Rep. 21.5 56.7 78.2 37.8
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, Nov. 2012;
Notes: Purple is 2011/1999 data; Black is 2010/2000;

Adjusted Net Enrollment Rate. Primary (%)
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.
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, 2012
Note: Data displayed is for the latest available year (2008-2011)

Do countries with low national income
per capita have low primary enrollments?
 Low income does not
necessarily indicate
lower primary enrolment
rates: Countries with the
lowest gross national
income (GNI) per capita
(<$500) have ANERs
ranging from 35%
(Eritrea) to 97.5%
(Malawi).
 Countries with the
lowest primary ANERs
(less than 75%) have
GNI p.c. less than
$1270. Equatorial
Guinea is the only
exception with 56.3%
primary ANER and
$14,540 GNI pc.
There is no clear association between low national
income p.c. and low primary enrollment rates.
R² = 0.098
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
AdjustedNetEnrollmentRate.Primary.Total
GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$)
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, Nov. 2012
Note: ANER data are for the most recent year between 2009 and 2011.
Equitorial Guinea
Eritrea
Macao, China SAR
Djibouti
Nigeria

Which regions have reached gender
parity in primary enrollments?
 Gender parity indices
(GPIs) are calculated by
dividing the female value
for an indicator by the
male value, so perfect
gender parity equals 1.
A value below 1 indicates
a bias toward males. A
value above 1 indicates a
bias toward females.
 Globally, the GPI has
been increasing from .93
in 1999 to .98 in 2010.
 Most regions are very
close to gender parity (+/-
0.03). Only MNA and
SSA lag behind.
 EAP, ECA, and LAC have
achieved gender parity in
primary (+/- 0.02).
All regions except MNA and SSA are within 0.03 of
gender parity in primary enrollments.
0.93
0.93
0.94 0.94
0.96
0.97
0.97
0.97 0.97
0.98
0.98
0.80
0.82
0.84
0.86
0.88
0.90
0.92
0.94
0.96
0.98
1.00
1.02
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
GenderParityIndex(GPI)forAdjustedNetEnrolmentRate.
Primary
WLD EAP ECA LAC MNA SAS SSA
Female Bias
Male Bias

0.65
0.70
0.75
0.80
0.85
0.90
0.95
1.00
1.05
1.10
1.15
GenderParityIndex(GPI)forGrossEnrolmentRatio.
Primary
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, September, 2012
Note: Data points are the most recent year with data available (2008-
2011)
Have most countries reached gender
parity in primary enrollments?
 Half of countries with
data have already
achieved gender parity
(+/- .02).
 78% of countries with
data are within 0.05 of
gender parity.
 Many more countries
have a bias toward
males in primary
enrolments (GPI<1).
 Afghanistan has the
largest male bias at .69
followed by Central
African Rep. and Chad
at .73.
 San Marino has the
highest female bias at
1.134.
78% of countries are within 0.05 of gender parity in
primary enrollments.
Female
Bias
Male Bias

Which countries have the largest gender
disparities in primary enrolment rates?
 The male primary
gross enrolment rate
in these countries is
much higher than the
female gross
enrolment rate.
 7 of 10 countries are
in SSA. 2 are in
South Asia and 1 is
in MNA.
 Of the 20 countries
with the lowest GPIs
(GPI<0.9),14 are in
SSA, 2 are in SAS, 2
are in EAP (Togo and
PNG), and 1 is in
LAC (Dominican
Republic).
10 Countries with the Largest Gender
Disparities in Primary Enrollment Rates
(2008-2011)
1 Afghanistan 0.694
3 Chad 0.729
4 Angola 0.813
5 Yemen, Rep. 0.817
6 Pakistan 0.818
8 Niger 0.837
9 Guinea 0.838
10 Eritrea 0.838
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, September 2012;
Notes: Data is GPI for Primary Gross Enrolment Rate; Black figures are 2011 data;
Blue=2010; Data were not available for 71 of 214 countries.

Which countries have decreased
gender disparity in primary the most?
moved from 0.14 to
0.25 percentage
points closer to
gender parity (1)
between 2000/2001
and the most recent
data year.
 6 of the 10 countries
are in SSA; 2 are in
MNA and 2 in South
Asia.
 Senegal now has
higher female
enrollment rates than
male enrollment rates
(1.06).
 Burundi and India
have reached gender
parity.
10 Countries with the Most Improvement
Toward Gender Parity in Primary
Enrollments
Percentage
Points
Improved
2000 or
2001
GPI
Most
current
GPI
%
Improved
1 Sierra Leone 0.25 0.67 0.93 37.53
2 Ethiopia 0.22 0.69 0.91 32.73
3 Burkina Faso 0.20 0.73 0.93 27.50
4 Benin 0.20 0.67 0.87 29.66
5 Yemen, Rep. 0.19 0.63 0.82 30.55
6 Burundi 0.19 0.80 0.99 23.64
7 Senegal 0.17 0.89 1.06 19.31
8 India 0.15 0.85 1.00 17.61
9 Pakistan 0.15 0.67 0.82 21.79
10 Djibouti 0.14 0.76 0.90 18.84
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, Sept. 2012;
Notes: Most current GPI is the most recent data point for 2008-2011;

Do gender, income, or location disparities
exist in primary attendance rates?
 EAP, ECA, LAC, and
MNA do not have large
disparities in primary net
attendance rates (NAR)
between
genders, rural/urban
locations, or top/bottom
income quintiles.
 The largest disparities in
most regions are
associated with income.
In SSA and SAS, there
is a 20 percentage point
difference between the
top/bottom income
quintiles.
 Rural students in SSA
also have NARs that are
12 percentage points
lower than urban
students.2
Gender, income and location disparities are small
in all regions except except SAS and SSA.
-2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
EAP ECA LAC MNA SAS SSA
PercentagePointDifferenceinNetAttendanceRate.Primary
(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

 In 1999, 16% of
primary school age
children were OOS.
42% of children in SSA
and almost a quarter of
children in SAS were
OOS.
 By 2010, 9.3% of
children were OOS
globally, but SSA’s rate
was still much higher at
23.8%.
 Most of the progress in
reducing the rate of
children OOS occurred
between 1999 and
2008. Since
2008, global and
regional rates have
basically remained the
same.
Which regions have the highest
percentage of children out-of-school?
Rates of Children Out-of-School have decreased
since 1999, but progress has slowed since 2008.
16.3
15.5
15.1
14.5
13.1
11.3
11.1 10.9
10.1
9.3 9.3
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
40.0
45.0
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Out-of-schoolrateforchildrenofprimaryschoolage(%).Total
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in Edstats, November 2012
WLD EAP ECA LAC MNA SAS SSA

Which countries have highest rates of
children out-of-school?
 More than half of
primary-school age
children are out of
school in Eritrea and
Djibouti.
 More than a quarter of
primary school aged
children are out-of-
school in 14 countries.
 47 countries have more
than 10% of children
out-of-school.
 Nine of ten countries are
in SSA.
10 Countries with the Highest Rates
of Children Out-of School
(2009-2011)
1 Eritrea 65.1
2 Djibouti 55.4
4 Nigeria 42.4
6 Niger 37.5
7 Burkina Faso 36.8
8 Mali 32.8
10 Gambia, The 30.7
Notes: Data displayed is the most current year available; Purple is 2011; Black is
2010; Blue is 2009; Green is 2008; Data was not available for 61 of 214 countries.

Out-of-school rate for children of
primary school age (%)
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, Nov. 2012
Note: Data displayed is for the latest available year (2008-2011)

Which region has the most out of
school (OOS) children?
 In 2010, ¾ of the world’s
out-of-school (OOS)
children lived in two
regions: SSA and SAS.
 Over half (55%) of the
world's out of school
children lived in SSA.
 ECA had the smallest
percentage of the
world’s OOS children at
1.8% followed by MNA
(3.9%) and LAC (4.4%).
Out-of-School Children of Primary
School Age by Region (2010)
EAP
10.6%
6 Million
ECA
1.8%
LAC
4.4%
MNA
3.9%
SAS
21.8%
13 Million
SSA
54.4%
33 Million
HIC
3.1%
Notes: Regional aggregates are World Bank regions;
HIC = high income countries in all geographic regions.

How many primary school age
children are out of school (OOS)?
 In 1999, 107.7 million
children were out of
primary school.
 The total decreased
to 72.6 million in
2005 and 60.7
million in 2010.
 There were 47 million
fewer children OOS
in 2010 than in 1999.
 Since 2008, the
global number of
out-of-school
children has grown
from 60.66 million to
60.69 million (2009)
and 60.73 million in
2010.
The total number of out-of-school children has
decreased by 47 million since 1999.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Out-of-SchoolChildren.Primary.Total(inmillions)
Note: HIC = High Income Countries in all regions
HIC ECA LAC MNA EAP SAS SSA

How much have regions decreased
the total number of OOS children?
 SAS and MNA more
than halved the total
number of OOS
children between 1999
and 2010. In SAS, the
total number of OOS
children decreased by
25.6 million or 66%.
 SSA decreased the
total number by 12.3
million, which was a
27% decrease between
1999 and 2010, but the
total number increased
by 1.5 million between
2008 and 2010.
All regions have decreased their total number of
out-of-school children since 1999.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
SSA SAS EAP MNA LAC ECA
Out-of-SchoolChildren.Total(inmillions)
1999 2008 2010

Which countries have the most out-
of-school children?
 45.8% of the world’s out-
of-school children live in
the 10 countries listed
here.
 Five of the countries are
in SSA and 3 are in SAS.
 Nigeria almost has as
many OOS children as
the regional totals for
LAC, ECA, and MNA
combined (10.9 million).
 The US is #8 in the
ranking because of the
large size of the school
age population and also
possibly because of a
lack of consistent data
collection on home-
schooled children.
10 Countries with the Most Out-of
School Children
(2008-2011)
1 Nigeria 10,542,105
2 Pakistan 5,125,373
3 Ethiopia 2,389,945
4 India 2,278,322
5 Bangladesh 1,835,269
6 Philippines 1,460,431
7 Cote d'Ivoire 1,160,732
8 United States 1,023,231
9 Burkina Faso 1,022,362
10 Niger 1,012,228
Notes: Data displayed is the most current year available; Purple is 2011; Black
is 2010; Blue is 2009; Green is 2008; Data was not available for 61 of 214
countries.

Are more females out-of-
school than males?
 In 1999, there were
almost 62 million
females out-of-school
compared to 45.5
million males. 58% of
the world’s out-of-
school children were
female.
 In 2010, around 32
million girls were out of
school compared to
28.6 million boys.
52.5% of out-of-school
children were female.
 The gap between male
and female totals
decreased from 16.5
million to 3.6 million
between 1999 and
2010.
More Females are Out of Primary School than Males
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Out-of-SchoolChildren.Primary(inmillions)
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, September 2012
Males Out-of-School Females Out-of-School

Where are more females out-of-
school?
 Over half of the
world’s out of school
girls are in SSA, and
just under 1/4 are in
South Asia.
 South Asia has
decreased its total
number of females
out-of-school by 17.7
million since 1999.
The region’s total
dropped from 25
million to 7 million.
 SSA has also
decreased its total
from 24.3 million in
1999 to 17.5 million in
2010.
3 out of every 4 Out-of-School Girls are
in either Sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Out-of-SchoolChildren.Primary.Female(inmillions)
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, October 2012
LAC ECA MNA EAP SAS SSA

Which countries have the most
females OOS?
 Around half of the world’s
out-of-school females live
in these 10 countries.
 36% of the world’s out-of-
school females live in the
Top 4 countries.
 Nigeria, Pakistan, and
India all have more our-
of-school females that the
sum of all females out-of-
school in LAC and ECA.
 Half of the countries are
in SSA and three are in
South Asia.
10 Countries with the Most Female
Out-of School Children
(2008-2011)
1 Nigeria 5,487,901
2 Pakistan 3,241,203
3 India 1,407,495
4 Ethiopia 1,367,141
5 Cote d'Ivoire 663,809
6 Philippines 661,551
7 Bangladesh 591,325
8 Niger 568,884
9 Yemen, Rep. 567,702
10 Burkina Faso 530,731
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, October, 2012;
Notes: Data displayed is the most current year available; Orange is
2008;Blue is 2009; Blue is 2010; Black is 2011; Data were not available for
61 of 213 countries.

Are there gender, income, or location
disparities in the % of children OOS?
 In all regions, more low
income students are
OOS than high income
students. SAS has the
largest income disparity
at 29 percentage points
top and bottom quintiles.
SSA follows closely
behind with 24 points.
 A higher % of boys are
OOS in EAP, ECA, and
LAC, but a higher % of
girls are OOS in SAS
and SSA.
 In all regions except for
ECA, a higher % of rural
students are OOS. This
disparity is highest in
SSA at 15 percentage
points.2
Low income is the greatest source of disparity in
percentages of OOS children across regions.
-30
-28
-26
-24
-22
-20
-18
-16
-14
-12
-10
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
2
PercentagePointDifferenceinthe%ofChildrenOut-of-School
Gender disparity
Location disparity
Income disparity

Do rural/urban disparities in educational
access exist in SSA?
Source: Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys In World Inequality Database on Education (WIDE), Nov. 2012
Percentage of the population in the official age range of
lower secondary education not in school
Percentage of 7 to16 year olds who has never been to school.

Do income disparities exist in educational
access in SAS and EAP?
South Asia (SAS)
East Asia and the Pacific (EAP)
Source: Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys In World Inequality Database on Education (WIDE), Nov. 2012
Percentage of 7 to16 year olds who has never been to school.

Which regions have higher
primary pupil-teacher ratios?
 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
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, March 2013

Which countries have the highest
primary pupil-teacher ratios?
 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.
10 Countries with the Highest
Primary Pupil-Teacher Ratios
(2006-2012)
Pupil-Teacher
Ratio. Primary
Adjusted Net Enrolment
Rate. Primary
1 Central African Rep. 81.3 68.9
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 -
Note: Data is for the most recent available year; Black data are for 2011; Blue = 2010;

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)
Note: Data displayed is for the most recent available year

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

Which countries have the highest
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.
10 Countries with the Highest
Primary Repetition Rates
(2006-2012)
1 Burundi 36.2
2 Comoros 24.4
4 Chad 21.6
5 Togo 21.5
6 Lesotho 20.0
7 Malawi 19.6
8 Madagascar 19.4
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
have decreased their
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.

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.
45
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
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%.
10 Countries with the
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
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.
(continued on next slide)
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
genders.
 SAS had a large gender
disparity in 1999 (15
percentage points) but
decreased the
difference to 2.7
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
PercentagePointDifferenceinPrimaryCompletionRate
Gender disparity
Location disparity
Income disparity

 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)

Expenditures
on Primary
Education

Which countries spend the least per
student on primary education?
 The average spending
per primary school
student is 16.7% of
per capita GDP. These
countries spend
between 3.5 and 7
percent of GDP per
capita on each primary
school student.
 Five of the 10 lowest
spending countries are
in SSA. Two are
classified as high
income countries.
 5 countries have net
enrollment rates higher
than 90%.
 DRC is the only country
with low primary
spending and very high
private enrollment share
(82.5%).
10 Countries with the Lowest Share of
p.c. GDP per Primary Student
(2006-2012)
Share of pc
GDP (%) per
student
Primary Net
Enrolment
Rate (%)
Private
Enrollment
Share (%)
1 Monaco 3.5 21.8
2 Central African Rep. 4.4 68.5 13.8
3 Brunei Darussalam 5.1 91.6 36.6
4 Congo, Dem. Rep. 5.2 82.5
5 Liberia 5.4 40.8 32.6
6 Madagascar 6.4 17.8
7 Cameroon 6.6 93.8 20.9
8 Cambodia 6.8 98.2 1.5
9 Panama 6.8 96.9 12.0
10 Rwanda 6.9 98.7 2.2
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, Feb. 2013
Note: Figures are for the most recent year with data available between 2006 and
2012: Blue figures are for 2010; Green for 2009; Black for 2011; Maroon for 2007;
Data were not available for 82 countries.

Which countries spend the most per
student on primary education?
 Serbia spends over
half of per capita
GDP on each primary
student, and all other
countries in the list
spend more than a
quarter.
 Eight of the listed
countries have
primary net enrolment
rates (NER) higher
than 90%.
low private enrolment
shares ranging from
0.1 to 14%.
10 Countries with the Highest Share of
p.c. GDP per Primary Student
(2006-2012)
Share of pc
GDP (%) per
student
Primary Net
Enrolment Rate
(%)
Private
Enrollment
Share (%)
1 Serbia 55.6 93.2 0.1
2 Cuba 49.3 98.2
3 Moldova 41.4 87.8 0.9
4 Cyprus 31.5 98.7 7.6
5 Latvia 31.4 95.1 1.1
6 Comoros 29.5 77.8 14.1
7 Denmark 28.9 95.4 13.7
8 Sweden 28.3 99.4 9.5
9 Estonia 27.8 95.0 4.1
10 Iceland 27.2 99.0 2.0
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics in EdStats, Feb. 2013
Notes: Figures are for the most recent year with data available between 2006 and
2012: Blue figures are for 2010; Green for 2009;
Maroon for 2008; Data were not available for 82 countries.

Public Expenditure per Pupil as a
% of GDP per capita. Primary
(2006-2012)
Note: Data displayed is for the latest available year

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 2010 data for most indicators/countries.
 Indicators were calculated by UIS according to definitions available in the
EdStats Query.
2) Demographic and Health Surveys, Multiple Indicator Cluster
Surveys, and Living Standards Measurement Studies for 1985-2007;
Reports were generated through ADePT Edu (2011)
3) Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster
Surveys in the World Inequality Database on Education (WIDE)
4) Learning Outcome Data from the EdStats Query:
 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
 Literacy
 Equity
 Gender

Primary ed

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Editor's Notes