The State of the World's Children 2003
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Please check against print version of the report to assure accuracy.
Countries and territories Under-5 mortality rank Adult literacy rate No. of sets per 1000 population Primary school enrolment ratio Net primary school attendance (%)
(1992-2001*) 		% of primary school entrants reaching grade 5
1995-99* 		Secondary school enrolment ratio 1995-99* (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 98 - - - - 259 129 110 109 100 100 90 90 82x 75 77
Algeria 75 66 39 75 51 242 105 119 110 99 96 98 96 95 65 69
Andorra 161 - - - - 227 391 - - - - - - - - -
Angola 3 56x 29x - - 54 13 97 81 60 52 64 65 4 18 13
Antigua and Barbuda 144 90 87 80x 83x 542 463 - - - - - - - - -
Argentina 130 96 96 97 97 681 223 119 119 100 100 - - 95 91 97
Armenia 93 - - 100x 99x 239 232 92 98 - - - - - 85x 91x
Australia 164 - - - - 1391 554 101 101 95 95 - - 99x 156 157
Austria 178 - - - - 751 525 104 103 90 91 - - 96 101 97
Azerbaijan 48 99 96 99x 96x 23 22 97 96 89 90 91 91 98 80 80
Bahamas 138 94 96 95 97 739 230 95 92 88 88 - - 78 88x 91x
Bahrain 138 87 75 91 83 580 472 102 103 93 95 85 84 96 99 105
Bangladesh 58 46 23 52 29 50 6 98 95 80 83 78 80 70 52 56
Barbados 144 98 96 98 97 888 285 109 108 89 90 - - - 99 103
Belarus 125 99 97 100 99 292 243 101 96 87x 84x - - 96 96 93
Belgium 164 - - - - 797 466 105 104 100 100 - - - 138 153
Belize 84 70x 70x 80x 80x 591 183 130 125 100 100 92 90 78 72 72
Benin 24 38 16 52 24 110 11 103 69 83 57 52 34 64 30 14
Bhutan 52 51 23 61 34 19 6 82 62 58 47 - - 87 7x 2x
Bolivia 58 87 70 92 79 675 116 115 112 97 97 92 90 82 81 76
Bosnia and Herzegovina 136 92 85 98x 89x 267 0 100 100 100 100 98 98 - - -
Botswana 42 66 70 74 80 154 20 109 109 82 85 82 85 88 78 85
Brazil 92 82 81 85 85 434 223 170 162 100 93 95 95 66 98 109
Brunei Darussalam 164 91 79 95 88 302 250 109 104 90x 91x - - 95 105 116
Bulgaria 138 98 96 99 98 537 394 105 102 96 94 - - 91 93 91
Burkina Faso 12 25 8 33 13 34 9 51 35 41 28 32 22 68 12 8
Burundi 14 49 28 56 41 69 4 69 56 49 40 49 44 74x 8 6
Cambodia 30 - - 79x 58x 128 9 109 95 94 83 66 65 45 22 12
Cameroon 25 72 53 82 69 163 32 88 74 81x 71x 76 71 51x 22 17
Canada 161 - - - - 1067 710 98 99 98 99 - - 99x 102 103
Cape Verde 88 75 53 84 65 183 4 145 143 98 99 - - 91 54 56
Central African Republic 19 47 21 60 35 83 5 68 45 63 42 47 39 24x 15x 6x
Chad 11 57 29 67 41 236 1 87 53 69 45 46 33 55 18 5
Chile 147 94 94 96 96 354 215 109 105 89 88 90 89 100 87 88
China 85 87 68 92 77 335 321 105 108 92 95 99 99 97 66 60
Colombia 118 89 88 92 92 524 115 113 112 88 88 90 90 69 67 75
Comoros 57 63x 47x 78x 70x 141 2 91 76 60 50 34 34 48 23 18
Congo 45 77 58 88 74 126 12 82 75 99x 93x - - 55 62 45
Congo, Democratic Republic of the 9 - - 83x 54x 376 135 49 44 33 32 55 48 64 24 13
Cook Islands 118 - - - - 711 193 113 110 99 97 - - 51 - -
Costa Rica 149 94 94 95 96 261 140 109 106 91 91 92 91 89 48 54
Côte d’Ivoire 20 43 23 55 38 161 64 88 66 67 50 61 52 70 28 15
Croatia 158 99 94 99 97 337 272 91 89 72 72 - - 98x 83 86
Cuba 152 95 95 96 96 352 239 106 102 100 99 93 95 95 80 84
Cyprus 164 98 90 99 95 406 325 82 83 81 82 - - 100 81 85
Czech Republic 178 - - - - 803 531 104 104 90 90 - - 98 87 89
Denmark 189 - - - - 1145 594 102 102 99 99 - - 100x 125 131
Djibouti 28 55 27 65 38 84 45 43 31 35 26 73y 62y 77 13 17
Dominica 143 - - - - 647 78 93 105 89 89 - - 91 - -
Dominican Republic 76 80 79 84 84 178 95 126 123 90 91 91 92 84 60 73
East Timor 36 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ecuador 98 91 86 94 90 348 130 114 114 97 98 90 90 72 56 57
Egypt 83 60 34 67 44 317 119 104 96 95 90 88 84 92 86 81
El Salvador 85 76 69 82 76 465 677 113 109 74 87 - - 77 50 50
Equatorial Guinea 26 85 61 92 75 428 10 137 112 88 70 38 38 16 43 19
Eritrea 41 - - - - 100 0 67 55 43 37 39y 35y 95 33 23
Estonia 147 - - 98x 98x 698 418 105 101 98 97 - - 96x 105 108
Ethiopia 21 36 21 44 33 202 6 85 57 34 28 33 28 51 6 4
Fiji 121 92 86 95 91 636 27 111 110 99 100 - - 92 64x 65x
Finland 178 - - - - 1498 622 101 100 100 100 - - 100 119 130
France 164 - - - - 946 595 106 105 100 100 - - 98 109 109
Gabon 56 68 45 80 62 183 55 134 130 82 83 93 93 59 58 51
Gambia 35 32 20 44 30 165 4 79 71 75 65 49 44 74 31 23
Georgia 102 100 98 100x 99x 590 502 95 95 95 95 98 98 98 77 78
Germany 178 - - - - 948 567 106 105 86 87 - - 100x 100 99
Ghana 49 69 46 79 61 236 93 82 74 51 50 75 74 80x 45x 29x
Greece 178 98 92 99 96 475 240 99 99 97 97 - - 100x 93 96
Grenada 110 - - - - 615 353 133 118 98 97 - - - - -
Guatemala 72 69 54 76 61 79 61 105 94 83 79 80 75 51 35 30
Guinea 22 45 18 55 27 49 12 75 51 56 41 46 33 87 20 7
Guinea-Bissau 8 42 12 53 21 43 - 99 66 63 45 44 38 20x 26 14
Guyana 64 98 96 99 98 498 55 117 115 100 94 97 92 91 80 82
Haiti 38 42 37 51 46 53 5 153 155 78 83 52 57 41 21x 20x
Holy See - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Honduras 88 74 76 78x 85x 410 95 96 98 85 86 - - 58 29x 37x
Hungary 152 99 99 100 99 690 435 104 103 90 90 - - 98x 98 99
Iceland 189 - - - - 950 358 102 101 100 100 - - 99x 105 113
India 54 62 34 69 42 120 65 99 82 78 64 79 73 60 59 39
Indonesia 77 88 75 92 82 155 68 110 106 93 90 93 93 90 56 54
Iran (Islamic Republic of) 81 73 55 84 70 263 71 89 86 75 74 99 96 98 83 77
Iraq 33 - - 71x 45x 229 83 111 91 100 86 88 80 72x 47 29
Ireland 164 - - - - 697 402 120 119 90 90 - - 95 119 127
Israel 164 97 92 98 94 524 288 115 114 100 100 - - 100x 93 93
Italy 164 98 97 99 98 880 528 102 101 100 100 - - 99 95 91
Jamaica 125 78 87 83 91 483 183 96 102 94 94 92 94 96x 85 82
Japan 178 - - - - 956 686 101 101 100 100 - - 100x 101 103
Jordan 94 90 72 95 84 271 82 101 101 93 94 95 94 98 86 89
Kazakhstan 61 98 98 98x 98x 395 237 100 100 100 100 87 88 92 87 87
Kenya 40 81 61 89 76 108 26 89 88 92x 89x 73 75 68x 31 28
Kiribati 67 - - - - 212 15 - - - - - - 95 - -
Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of 73 - - 100x 100x 146 52 108x 101x - - - - 100 - -
Korea, Republic of 178 98 93 99 96 1039 348 98 99 97 98 - - 99 98 97
Kuwait 151 80 73 84 80 678 505 85 84 68 65 - - 97 65 65
Kyrgyzstan 71 - - 99x 95x 113 45 103 100 82 82 95 95 89 82 84
Lao People’s Democratic Republic 49 65 39 74 50 145 10 124 106 85 78 71 67 54 42 29
Latvia 121 100 99 100 100 715 496 102 100 93 93 - - 96 88 90
Lebanon 95 88 73 92 80 907 375 102 98 71 71 90 90 91 75 82
Lesotho 34 66 89 74 94 52 27 99 108 55 62 62 68 68 24 32
Liberia 5 55 23 70 37 329 29 137 99 100 64 59y 53y 33 27 18
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 130 83 51 91 68 259 140 110x 110x 97x 96x - - 89x 75 84
Liechtenstein 149 - - - - 658 364 - - - - - - - - -
Lithuania 152 99 98 100 99 513 459 101 100 94 94 - - 98 115 71
Luxembourg 178 - - - - 683 391 99 101 95 97 - - - 93 98
Madagascar 32 - - 50x 44x 209 22 104 100 66 67 50 53 51 15 14
Malawi 15 69 36 75 47 258 - 158 158 66 71 77 79 34 50 40
Malaysia 158 87 75 91 84 434 172 102 100 100 100 94 94 99 94 104
Maldives 58 94 94 96 96 129 28 133 134 100 100 99 97 98 41 44
Mali 6 32 18 48 33 55 4 65 45 51 36 33 25 84 20 10
Malta 178 88 89 91 93 669 735 106 107 99 100 - - 100 95 85
Marshall Islands 70 - - - - - - 134 133 100 100 - - - - -
Mauritania 15 46 24 51 29 146 25 87 82 63 59 55 53 66 21 15
Mauritius 130 85 75 88 81 371 228 108 109 94 94 97 98 100 108 106
Mexico 102 90 85 93 89 329 272 114 113 100 100 97 97 85 72 75
Micronesia (Federated States of) 114 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Moldova, Republic of 95 99 95 100 98 736 288 96 95 - - 86 87 93 78 81
Monaco 178 - - - - 1039 768 - - - - - - 98x - -
Mongolia 61 99 99 99 99 142 47 97 100 88 91 85 84 - 58 71
Morocco 78 53 25 62 36 247 115 98 83 79 70 65 47 82 44 35
Mozambique 12 49 18 60 28 40 5 98 73 55 46 63 56 46 17 11
Myanmar 43 87 74 89 81 96 6 91 91 84 83 68 69 69 35 35
Namibia 69 77 72 83 81 143 37 112 114 77 82 84 87 83 56 63
Nauru 98 - - 93x 96x 609 46 104 98 99 97 - - - - -
Nepal 55 48 14 59 24 38 6 140 104 79 60 71 60 44 62 45
Netherlands 164 - - - - 980 519 109 107 100 99 - - 96x 127 122
New Zealand 164 - - - - 997 512 101 101 100 100 - - 97 110 116
Nicaragua 79 61 61 64 64 265 68 104 105 79 80 80 80 55 55 65
Niger 2 18 5 23 8 70 13 39 26 21 22 36 25 61 8 5
Nigeria 15 59 38 72 56 226 66 75 65 38 33 58 54 80x 33x 28x
Niue - - - - - 586 - 100 100 100 100 - - - - -
Norway 189 - - - - 917 462 101 101 100 100 - - 100x 116 118
Occupied Palestinian Territory 114 - - - - - - 108 109 99 99 93 94 98 78 83
Oman 146 68 38 80 62 607 694 75 71 66 65 90 88 94 68 67
Pakistan 43 49 20 58 28 94 22 99 69 84 60 50 41 50 46 32
Palau 102 - - - - 663 608 - - - - - - - - -
Panama 110 89 88 93 91 299 187 111 108 98 98 - - 92 67 71
Papua New Guinea 53 78 57 84 68 91 9 88 80 88 80 32y 31y 60 24 18
Paraguay 98 92 88 94 92 182 101 115 111 91 92 92 80 76 56 58
Peru 85 92 79 95 85 273 126 128 127 100 100 87y 87y 88 83 78
Philippines 88 93 92 96 95 161 52 118 119 98 93 89 91 69 73 79
Poland 152 100 100 100 100 522 337 102 100 97 97 - - 98x 99 98
Portugal 164 91 84 95 90 306 336 125 120 100 100 - - 97 108 116
Qatar 138 77 76 80 83 450 404 108 104 95 96 - - 88 78 107
Romania 121 99 95 99 97 319 233 103 101 93 93 96 96 96 80 81
Russian Federation 121 100 97 100 99 417 410 108x 107x 93x 93x - - - 79 85
Rwanda 15 63 44 74 61 101 0 124 121 97 97 68 68 45 12 12
Saint Kitts and Nevis 114 - - - - 701 264 101 94 92 86 - - - - -
Saint Lucia 130 - - - - 746 213 117 111 95 96 - - 95x 85 104
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 110 - - - - 690 163 99 83 90 78 - - - - -
Samoa 110 - - - - 1035 61 104 101 97 96 - - 83 73 80
San Marino 164 - - - - 620x 358x - - - - - - 100 - -
Sao Tome and Principe 63 85x 62x - - 272 163 - - - - 73 74 - - -
Saudi Arabia 105 78 51 84 67 321 262 70 67 60 56 - - 95 72 65
Senegal 30 38 19 47 28 141 41 78 68 66 58 51 44 77 24 15
Seychelles 137 - - 87x 89x 560 145 101 101 100 100 - - 100 - -
Sierra Leone 1 40 14 51 23 253 12 68 63 68 63 39 34 - 26 22
Singapore 189 95 83 96 88 744 388 95 93 93x 92x - - 100x 70 77
Slovakia 152 100 100 100 100 581 488 99 98 - - - - 97x 86 87
Slovenia 178 - - 100x 100x 403 356 98 97 94 93 - - 98x 97 100
Solomon Islands 114 - - - - 141 6 104x 90x - - - - 81 21x 14x
Somalia 7 36x 14x - - 53 15 18x 9x 13x 7x 13 11 - 10x 6x
South Africa 66 82 80 86 84 355 134 121 117 95 96 - - 76 86 95
Spain 164 98 95 99 97 331 409 105 105 100 100 - - 98x 110 116
Sri Lanka 130 93 85 94 89 211 84 107 104 97 97 - - 97 70 74
Sudan 46 59 31 68 46 272 86 59 51 49 41 54 52 87 22 36
Suriname 95 94 89 96 93 728 153 129x 125x 100x 100x 88 91 99x 50x 58x
Swaziland 27 74 70 81 79 168 23 128 121 92 94 71 71 76 60 60
Sweden 193 - - - - 932 519 108 111 100 100 - - 97 135 172
Switzerland 164 82x 80x - - 979 457 108 107 100 99 - - 100x 103 96
Syrian Arab Republic 105 82 47 88 60 278 70 108 99 96 89 99 98 92 44 39
Tajikistan 64 99 97 100 99 143 3 109 101 90 83 83 84 - 82 70
Tanzania, United Republic of 23 76 51 84 67 280 3 63 63 46 48 47 51 81 6 5
Thailand 105 96 91 97 94 234 254 96 91 83 80 - - 97 78 80
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 109 97x 91x - - 206 257 101 100 94 93 - - 95 85 82
Togo 29 61 29 72 43 219 17 139 109 100 82 67 59 52 50 22
Tonga 125 - - - - 619 21 124 120 98 93 - - 92 - -
Trinidad and Tobago 125 98 96 99 98 533 333 105 103 93 93 - - 96 75 82
Tunisia 108 72 46 81 60 224 100 121 115 99 97 95 93 92 73 76
Turkey 79 90 69 94 77 178 330 98 86 93 82 73 70 99 67 48
Turkmenistan 51 99x 97x - - 289 194 - - - - 81y 80y - - -
Tuvalu 74 - - 98x 98x 384 - 100 100 100 100 - - 96 - -
Uganda 36 69 43 78 57 130 16 129 114 92 83 69 66 45 15 9
Ukraine 125 - - 98x 99x 882 353 87x 86x - - - - 98x 87 99
United Arab Emirates 152 78 84 85x 93x 355 134 95 94 78 79 - - 92 70 80
United Kingdom 161 - - - - 1443 521 99 99 99 99 - - - 146 169
United States 158 - - - - 2116 806 101 99 95 95 - - 99x 94 95
Uruguay 138 96 97 97 98 603 239 113 111 93 94 - - 86 84 99
Uzbekistan 68 95 95 99x 99x 465 276 100 100 87 89 78 78 - 99x 87x
Vanuatu 81 - - - - 350 14 113 122 100 92 - - 65 31 26
Venezuela 120 91 89 93 93 472 180 103 101 84 92 - - 91 54 65
Viet Nam 88 94 85 96 91 107 47 110 107 95 94 94 93 83 68 61
Yemen 46 55 13 67 25 64 29 98 56 76 45 75y 40y 74 69 25
Yugoslavia 130 97x 88x 99x 97x 296 259 65 67 50 51 98 96 100x 59 62
Zambia 10 79 59 85 71 120 32 81 76 67 66 62 62 78 29 22
Zimbabwe 38 91 83 96 90 102 33 98 95 80 80 80 82 73 48 43

REGIONAL SUMMARIES  
Sub-Saharan Africa 60 41 69 54 199 47 85 74 54 49 55 52 61 26 22
Middle East and North Africa 67 41 75 54 275 114 94 83 80 73 86 79 91 67 62
South Asia 60 32 66 40 110 53 99 81 79 66 74 68 59 57 40
East Asia and Pacific 88 72 93 80 304 252 106 107 92 93 95 95 93 65 61
Latin America and Caribbean 87 84 89 87 409 204 134 130 96 94 93 92 76 80 86
CEE/CIS and Baltic States 98 93 99 96 442 339 100 95 92 88 81 79 97 81 80
Industrialized countries - - - - 1322 641 102 101 97 97 - - - 105 108
Developing countries 77 58 82 66 245 157 103 94 82 76 80 77 76 60 53
Least developed countries 53 31 61 40 142 23 88 74 62 57 57 52 62 31 26
World 82 69 85 74 417 240 103 95 83 78 81 77 77 66 61

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. 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 p eriod specified in the column heading.