Official Summary
The State of the World's Children 2002: Leadership

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Please check against print version of the report to assure accuracy.

Table 4: Education

  Under-5 mortality rank Adult literacy rate No. of sets per 1000 population Primary school enrolment ratio Net primary school attendance (%)
(1992-2000*)
% of primary school entrants reaching
grade 5
1995-99*
Secondary school enrolment ratio 1995-97* (gross)
1990 2000 1997 1995-99* (gross) 1995-99*
(net)
male female male female radio television male female male female male female male female
Afghanistan 4 40 12 51 21 132 13 53 5 42x 15x 36 11 49 32 11
Albania 96 - - - - 259 129 106 108 100 100 90 90 82x 37 38
Algeria 70 66 39 75 51 242 105 97 93 94 91 98 96 95 65 62
Andorra 160 - - - - 227 391 - - - - - - - - -
Angola 2 56x 29x - - 54 13 95x 88x - - 52 48 34x - -
Antigua and Barbuda 145 90 87 80x 83x 542 463 - - - - - - - - -
Argentina 123 96 96 97 97 681 223 110 108 96x 96x - - 94 73 81
Armenia 98 - - 100x 99x 239 232 92 98 - - - - - 85x 91x
Australia 163 - - - - 1391 554 101 101 95 95 - - 99x 150 155
Austria 175 - - - - 751 525 104 103 90 91 - - 96 105 102
Azerbaijan 47 99 96 99x 96x 23 22 97 96 89 90 88 88 98 73 81
Bahamas 137 94 96 95 97 739 230 99 99 99 99 - - 78 88x 91x
Bahrain 141 87 75 91 83 580 472 103 104 96 98 - - 99 91 98
Bangladesh 55 46 23 52 29 50 6 98 95 80 83 81 83 70 25x 13x
Barbados 146 98 96 98 97 888 285 102 100 100 100 - - - 90x 80x
Belarus 129 99 97 100 99 292 243 101 96 87x 84x - - 96 91 95
Belgium 163 - - - - 797 466 104 102 99 98 - - - 142 151
Belize 83 70x 70x 80x 80x 591 183 105 98 90 86 92 90 72 47x 52x
Benin 25 38 16 52 24 110 11 91 60 75 50 52 34 64 24 10
Bhutan 51 51 23 61 34 19 6 82 62 58 47 - - 86 7x 2x
Bolivia 57 87 70 92 79 675 116 99 95 95x 87x 88 87 47 40x 34x
Bosnia and Herzegovina 137 92 85 98x 89x 267 0 100 100 100 100 94 95 - - -
Botswana 50 66 70 74 80 154 20 119 118 98 99 83 85 86 61 68
Brazil 90 82 81 85 85 434 223 100x 96x - - 95 95 71 31x 36x
Brunei Darussalam 160 91 79 95 88 302 250 109 104 90x 91x - - 95 71 82
Bulgaria 141 98 96 99 98 537 394 100 99 98 98 - - 91 77 76
Burkina Faso 12 25 8 33 13 34 9 48 33 40 28 32 22 68 11x 6x
Burundi 14 49 28 56 41 69 4 68 55 38 37 49 44 74x 9 5
Cambodia 32 - - 79x 58x 128 9 95 84 82 74 66 65 45 30 18
Cameroon 25 72 53 82 69 163 32 88 74 82x 71x 75 71 51x 32x 22x
Canada 163 - - - - 1067 710 103 101 96 94 - - 99x 105 105
Cape Verde 84 75 53 84 65 183 4 122 114 100 97 - - 91 54 56
Central African Rep. 19 47 21 60 35 83 5 70 50 51 27 47 39 24x 15x 6x
Chad 12 57 29 67 41 236 1 83 46 65 39 46 33 59 15 4
Chile 148 94 94 96 96 354 215 104 102 88 88 90 89 100 72 78
China 84 87 68 92 77 335 321 105 104 99 99 99 99 91 72 65
Colombia 98 89 88 92 92 524 115 103 103 - - 90 90 59 70 75
Comoros 55 63x 47x 78x 70x 141 2 99 85 65 55 45y 42y 48 21x 16x
Congo 45 77 58 88 74 126 12 82 75 99x 93x - - 55 62 45
Congo, Dem. Rep. 9 - - 83x 54x 376 135 70 51 66 51 59 53 64 32x 19x
Cook Islands 117 - - - - 711 193 113 110 99 97 - - 61 - -
Costa Rica 148 94 94 95 96 261 140 109 108 93 93 92 91 89 47 50
Côte d’Ivoire 22 43 23 55 38 161 64 82 60 63 47 61 52 70 33 16
Croatia 153 99 94 99 97 337 272 94 97 93 96 - - 98x 81 83
Cuba 153 95 95 96 96 352 239 97 97 94 95 93 95 95 76 85
Cyprus 160 98 90 99 95 406 325 100 100 96 96 - - 100 96 99
Czech Rep. 175 - - - - 803 531 105 103 87 87 - - 100x 97 100
Denmark 175 - - - - 1145 594 102 101 99 99 - - 100x 120 122
Djibouti 27 55 27 65 38 84 45 45 33 39 28 73y 62y 83 17 12
Dominica 141 - - - - 647 78 93 105 89 89 - - 89 - -
Dominican Rep. 75 80 79 84 84 178 95 93x 93x 84 85 94 94 58x 34x 47x
East Timor - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ecuador 94 91 86 94 90 348 130 99 98 90 91 90 90 72 53x 55x
Egypt 82 60 34 67 44 317 119 103 96 94 89 88 84 92 80 70
El Salvador 84 76 69 82 76 465 677 94 94 78 78 - - 77 30 35
Equatorial Guinea 24 85 61 92 75 428 10 139 118 89 89 - - - - -
Eritrea 41 - - - - 100 0 64 54 40 35 39y 35y 71 24 17
Estonia 123 - - 98x 98x 698 418 95 93 87 86 - - 96x 100 108
Ethiopia 21 36 21 44 33 202 6 52 31 43 28 51 37 51 14 10
Fiji 120 92 86 95 91 636 27 111 110 99 100 - - 92 64x 65x
Finland 175 - - - - 1498 622 98 99 98 98 - - 100 110 125
France 175 - - - - 946 595 106 104 100 100 - - 99x 112 111
Gabon 54 68 45 80 62 183 55 134 130 82 83 87 86 59 - -
Gambia 35 32 20 44 30 165 4 78 66 64 55 54 49 74 30 19
Georgia 103 100 98 100x 99x 590 502 95 95 95 95 98 98 98 78 76
Germany 175 - - - - 948 567 104 104 86 87 - - 100x 105 103
Ghana 49 69 46 79 61 236 93 82 72 - - 75 74 80x 45x 29x
Greece 163 98 92 99 96 475 240 93 93 90 90 - - 100x 95 96
Grenada 109 - - - - 615 353 133 118 98 97 - - - - -
Guatemala 72 69 54 76 61 79 61 100 89 81 75 75 69 51 26 24
Guinea 20 45 18 55 27 49 12 68 40 49 30 39 26 78 20 7
Guinea-Bissau 8 42 12 53 21 43 - 85 52 58x 32x 46 39 20x 9x 4x
Guyana 62 98 96 99 98 498 55 91 86 89 84 97 92 91 73 78
Haiti 37 42 37 51 46 53 5 128 124 66 66 42 43 41 21x 20x
Holy See - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Honduras 84 74 76 78x 85x 410 95 96 98 85 86 - - 58 29x 37x
Hungary 153 99 99 100 99 690 435 104 102 97 96 - - 98x 96 99
Iceland 187 - - - - 950 358 98 98 98 98 - - 99x 109 108
India 53 62 34 69 42 120 65 99 82 78 64 79 73 52 59 39
Indonesia 75 88 75 92 82 155 68 117 110 97 93 93 93 85 55 48
Iran 80 73 55 84 70 263 71 111 102 99 94 99 96 95 81 73
Iraq 34 - - 71x 45x 229 83 110 95 98 88 88 80 72x 51 32
Ireland 163 - - - - 697 402 103 102 100 100 - - 97 113 122
Israel 163 97 92 98 94 524 288 96x 96x - - - - 100x 84x 89x
Italy 163 98 97 99 98 880 528 101 100 100 100 - - 99 94 95
Jamaica 129 78 87 83 91 483 183 96 92 89 87 92 94 96x 63x 67x
Japan 187 - - - - 956 686 101 102 100x 100x - - 100x 99x 100x
Jordan 91 90 72 95 84 271 82 93 93 86 86 95 94 98 52x 54x
Kazakhstan 60 98 98 98x 98x 395 237 100 100 100 100 87 83 92 80 89
Kenya 38 81 61 89 76 108 26 89 88 92x 89x 73 75 68x 26 22
Kiribati 64 - - - - 212 15 - - - - - - 95 - -
Korea, Dem. People’s Rep. 98 - - 100x 100x 146 52 108x 101x - - - - 100 - -
Korea, Rep. of 175 98 93 99 96 1039 348 98 99 97 98 - - 99 102 102
Kuwait 151 80 73 84 80 678 505 101 97 89 85 - - 97 65 65
Kyrgyzstan 71 - - 99x 95x 113 45 98 98 98 97 89 90 89 75 83
Lao People’s Dem. Rep. 47 65 39 74 50 145 10 125 103 80 72 71 67 57 34 23
Latvia 123 100 99 100 100 715 496 101 100 88 92 - - 96 82 85
Lebanon 94 88 73 92 80 907 375 113 108 - - 98 98 91 78 85
Lesotho 33 66 89 74 94 52 27 96 92 55 65 62 68 68 25 36
Liberia 5 55 23 70 37 329 29 72 53 43 31 59y 53y - 31x 12x
Libya 129 83 51 91 68 259 140 110x 110x 97x 96x - - - 95x 95x
Liechtenstein 150 - - - - 658 364 - - - - - - - - -
Lithuania 123 99 98 100 99 513 459 99 96 - - - - 98 85 88
Luxembourg 175 - - - - 683 391 88x 94x 84x 86x - - - 72x 76x
Madagascar 30 - - 50x 44x 209 22 104 103 67 69 57 58 40 16 16
Malawi 15 69 36 75 47 258 - 142 128 100x 100x 83 83 34 21 12
Malaysia 153 87 75 91 84 434 172 95 96 95 96 94 94 99 58 66
Maldives 57 94 94 96 96 129 28 125 122 93 92 99 97 98 49x 49x
Mali 6 32 18 48 33 55 4 60 40 47 33 45 36 84 14 7
Malta 163 88 89 91 93 669 735 108 107 100 100 - - 100 86 82
Marshall Islands 68 - - - - - - 134 133 100 100 - - - - -
Mauritania 18 46 24 51 29 146 25 88 79 61 53 55 53 66 21 11
Mauritius 129 85 75 88 81 371 228 105 106 97 99 97 98 100 63 66
Mexico 98 90 85 93 89 329 272 107 117 100 100 97 97 85 64 64
Micronesia, Fed. States of 117 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Moldova, Rep. of 92 99 95 100 98 736 288 96 95 - - 98 99 93 78 81
Monaco 175 - - - - 1039 768 - - - - - - 98x - -
Mongolia 59 99 99 99 99 142 47 103 103 93 94 91 92 - 48 65
Morocco 77 53 25 62 36 247 115 94 76 77 64 61y 45y 75 44 34
Mozambique 11 49 18 60 28 40 5 86 65 47 40 53 47 46 9 5
Myanmar 43 87 74 89 81 96 6 102 99 - - 68 69 45 29x 30x
Namibia 67 77 72 83 81 143 37 126 126 84 88 74y 79y 84 56 66
Nauru 98 - - 93x 96x 609 46 104 98 99 97 - - - - -
Nepal 51 48 14 59 24 38 6 140 104 79 60 71 60 44 49x 25x
Netherlands 175 - - - - 980 519 109 107 100 99 - - - 134 129
New Zealand 163 - - - - 997 512 101 101 100 100 - - 97 110 116
Nicaragua 78 61 61 64 64 265 68 101 104 76 79 80 80 51 45 53
Niger 3 18 5 23 8 70 13 36 22 30 19 44 31 66 9 5
Nigeria 17 59 38 72 56 226 66 75 65 38 33 58 54 80x 33x 28x
Niue - - - - - 586 - 100 100 100 100 - - - - -
Norway 187 - - - - 917 462 100 100 100 100 - - 100x 121 116
Occupied Palestinian Territories 113 - - - - - - - - - - 93 94 - - -
Oman 146 68 38 80 62 607 694 100 95 86 86 90 88 95 68 65
Pakistan 43 49 20 58 28 94 22 99 69 84 60 50 41 50 33x 17x
Palau 103 - - - - 663 608 - - - - - - - - -
Panama 109 89 88 93 91 299 187 106x 102x 91x 91x - - 82x 60x 65x
Papua New Guinea 42 78 57 84 68 91 9 42 66 79x 67x 32y 31y 60 17 11
Paraguay 96 92 88 94 92 182 101 113 110 91 92 92 80 71 42 45
Peru 74 92 79 95 85 273 126 123 121 100 100 87y 87y 87 72 67
Philippines 84 93 92 96 95 161 52 118 119 98 93 88 91 69 71x 75x
Poland 151 100 100 100 100 522 337 97 95 95 94 - - 98x 98 97
Portugal 163 91 84 95 90 306 336 130 124 100 100 - - 97 102x 111x
Qatar 141 77 76 80 83 450 404 106 100 96 92 - - 88 81 79
Romania 120 99 95 99 97 319 233 101 99 92 91 96 96 96 79 78
Russian Federation 120 100 97 100 99 417 410 108x 107x 93x 93x - - - 83x 91x
Rwanda 16 63 44 74 61 101 0 88 88 67 68 65 66 60x 12x 9x
Saint Kitts and Nevis 113 - - - - 701 264 101 94 92 86 - - - - -
Saint Lucia 135 - - - - 746 213 121 119 - - - - 95x - -
Saint Vincent/Grenadines 113 - - - - 690 163 99 83 90 78 - - - - -
Samoa 109 - - - - 1035 61 95 92 94 91 - - 84 59 66
San Marino 163 - - - - 620x 358x - - - - - - 100 - -
Sao Tome and Principe 60 85x 62x - - 272 163 - - - - - - - - -
Saudi Arabia 103 78 51 84 67 321 262 97 90 81 73 - - 96 65 57
Senegal 30 38 19 47 28 141 41 73 58 65 55 54 45 82 20 12
Seychelles 139 - - 87x 89x 560 145 101 101 100 100 - - 100 - -
Sierra Leone 1 40 14 51 23 253 12 59x 41x - - 43 40 - 22x 13x
Singapore 187 95 83 96 88 744 388 95 93 93x 92x - - 100x 70 77
Slovakia 153 100 100 100 100 581 488 99 98 - - - - 97x 92 96
Slovenia 175 - - 100x 100x 403 356 98 98 95 94 - - 98x 90 93
Solomon Islands 113 - - - - 141 6 104x 90x - - - - 81 21x 14x
Somalia 7 36x 14x - - 53 15 18x 9x 13x 7x 13 11 - 10x 6x
South Africa 64 82 80 86 84 355 134 98 86 88 86 - - 65x 76 91
Spain 175 98 95 99 97 331 409 110 108 100 100 - - 98x 116 128
Sri Lanka 135 93 85 94 89 211 84 103 101 - - - - 97 71 78
Sudan 45 59 31 68 46 272 86 48 43 43 37 59y 52y 76 21 19
Suriname 92 94 89 96 93 728 153 129x 125x 100x 100x 88 91 99x 50x 58x
Swaziland 28 74 70 81 79 168 23 119 112 100 100 - - 81 55 54
Sweden 187 - - - - 932 519 103 103 100 100 - - 97 128 153
Switzerland 187 82x 80x - - 979 457 108x 107x 96 96 - - 100x 94x 88x
Syria 103 82 47 88 60 278 70 98 93 96 92 99 98 92 45 40
Tajikistan 63 99 97 100 99 143 3 96 94 - - 93 93 - 81 72
Tanzania 23 76 51 84 67 280 3 77 76 56 57 51 55 81 6 5
TFYR Macedonia 109 97x 91x - - 206 257 100 98 97 96 - - 95 64 62
Thailand 103 96 91 97 94 234 254 93 90 82 79 - - 97 38x 37x
Togo 28 61 29 72 43 219 17 126 89 85 61 73y 64y 60 40 14
Tonga 123 - - - - 619 21 124 120 98 93 - - 92 - -
Trinidad and Tobago 129 98 96 99 98 533 333 99 98 88 88 - - 96 72 75
Tunisia 108 72 46 81 60 224 100 119 112 97 94 95 93 92 66 63
Turkey 78 90 69 94 77 178 330 98 86 93 82 74 70 99 68 48
Turkmenistan 64 99x 97x - - 289 194 - - - - 81y 80y - - -
Tuvalu 73 - - 98x 98x 384 - 100 100 100 100 - - 96 - -
Uganda 36 69 43 78 57 130 16 129 114 92 83 65y 63y 55x 15 9
Ukraine 123 - - 98x 99x 882 353 87x 86x - - - - 98x 88x 94x
United Arab Emirates 153 78 84 85x 93x 355 134 104 102 98 98 - - 95 77 82
United Kingdom 163 - - - - 1443 521 114 114 97 98 - - - 120 139
United States 159 - - - - 2116 806 102 101 94 95 - - 99x 98 97
Uruguay 139 96 97 97 98 603 239 113 110 93 93 - - 98 77 92
Uzbekistan 69 95 95 99x 99x 465 276 100 100 87 89 78 78 - 99x 87x
Vanuatu 80 - - - - 350 14 105x 107x 76x 72x - - 65 23x 18x
Venezuela 119 91 89 93 93 472 180 90 93 83 85 - - 89 33 46
Viet Nam 89 94 85 96 91 107 47 110 107 95 94 94 93 78 44x 41x
Yemen 39 55 13 67 25 64 29 89 45 79 39 75y 40y 74 53 14
Yugoslavia 129 97x 88x 99x 97x 296 259 69 70 69x 70x 98 97 100x 62 66
Zambia 10 79 59 85 71 120 32 102 100 85 86 67 68 84x 34x 21x
Zimbabwe 39 91 83 96 90 102 33 111 105 87 87 84 86 73 52 44
 

Regional summaries

Sub-Saharan Africa   60 41 69 54 199 47 82 69 58 50 58 54 66 28 22
Middle East and North Africa   67 41 75 54 275 114 95 84 85 76 84 76 88 64 55
South Asia   60 32 66 40 110 53 99 81 78 66 74 68 54 52 33
East Asia and Pacific   88 72 93 80 304 252 107 105 97 96 95 95 87 66 60
Latin America and Caribbean   87 84 89 87 409 204 105 107 - - 92 92 76 49 53
CEE/CIS and Baltic States   98 93 99 96 442 339 98 94 93 90 82 80 - 82 82
Industrialized countries   - - - - 1322 641 104 103 95 96 - - 99 105 107
Developing countries   77 58 82 66 245 157 98 89 83 76 81 77 73 55 46
Least developed countries   53 31 61 40 142 23 84 69 64 55 60 54 61 23 14
World   82 69 85 74 417 240 99 90 85 78 81 77 75 61 54
Countries in each region are listed here.
Definitions of the indicators Main data sources
Adult literacy rate - Percentage of persons aged 15 and over who can read and write. Adult literacy - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), including the Education for All 2000 Assessment.
Gross primary or secondary school enrolment ratio - The number of children enrolled in a level (primary or secondary), regardless of age, divided by the population of the age group that officially corresponds to the same level. Radio and television - UNESCO.
Net primary school enrolment ratio - The number of children enrolled in primary school who belong to the age group that officially corresponds to primary schooling, divided by the total population of the same age group. Primary and secondary school enrolment - UNESCO, including the Education for All 2000 Assessment.
Net primary school attendance - Percentage of children in the age group that officially corresponds to primary schooling who attend primary school. These data come from national household surveys. While both the attendance and enrolment data should report on children going to primary school, the number of children of primary school age is uncertain for many countries, and this can lead to significant biases in the enrolment ratio. Net primary school attendance - Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS).
Primary school entrants reaching grade five - Percentage of the children entering the first grade of primary school who eventually reach grade five. Reaching grade five - UNESCO, including the Education for All 2000 Assessment.
 
Notes - Data not available.
x Indicates data that refer to years or periods other than those specified in the column heading, differ from the standard definition or refer to only part of a country.
y Indicates data that differ from the standard definition or refer to only part of a country, but are included in the calculation of regional and global averages.
* Data refer to the most recent year available during the period specified in the column heading.


Tables index
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