30 June 2007

UNESCO releases data from 2006 education survey

The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) has released the data from its 2006 survey of international education indicators. The database, available free of charge at the UIS Data Centre, contains annual data for 206 countries and territories from the years 1999 to 2006. For most countries, the latest available data is from the year 2005. The chart below presents the distribution of the latest national data for six indicators that are closely linked to the Millennium Development Goals on education.

Distribution of latest national data from UIS 2006 education survey
Histogram showing annual distribution of latest education data from UIS 2006 survey
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Data Centre, June 2007, stats.uis.unesco.org.

The primary school net enrollment rate is available for 177 countries. In 134 countries, the latest data is from 2005 and in 6 countries, the primary NER for 2006 is provided. For two indicators - the survival rate to the last grade of primary school and the transition rate from primary to secondary school - the latest available data for most countries is from 2004. To calculate these two indicators, data from two consecutive years is needed. As an example, to calculate the transition rate from primary to secondary school in the year 2005, data from 2005 and 2006 is required. For this reason, the most recent data lags most other indicators by one year.

The secondary school net enrollment rate is only known for 153 of 206 countries and territories, and in 109 countries the latest data is from 2005. The school life expectancy from primary to tertiary school is provided for 190 countries, and the pupil/teacher ratio in primary school for 193 countries. As with most other indicators, the latest available data is from the year 2005 for the majority of countries.

The release of the data from the 2006 education survey follows the launch of the new UIS Data Centre in June 2007. This online database provides access to pre-defined statistical tables and to customizable tables with a choice of countries, regions and indicators. The UIS Data Centre contains data for more than 1000 types of indicators in the areas of education, science and technology, culture and communication.

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Friedrich Huebler, 30 June 2007 (edited 15 July 2007), Creative Commons License
Permanent link: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2007/06/unesco-releases-data-from-2006.html