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Friedrich Huebler, 17 December 2010 (edited 18 December 2010), Creative Commons License
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17 December 2010
Mobile version of International Education Statistics blog
The International Education Statistics blog is now available in a version formatted for mobile devices. If you access the blog on an iPhone, Android phone or similar device, the site will be displayed differently. The navigation bar, the tags and other elements are removed, graphs are reformatted to fit the smaller screen of mobile devices, and navigation is simplified. The mobile version of the blog can be viewed at http://huebler.blogspot.com/?m=1. The bottom of each page on the mobile version has a link to the web version of the blog.
Screenshot of mobile version of blog
Related articles
Friedrich Huebler, 17 December 2010 (edited 18 December 2010), Creative Commons License
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/12/mobile.html
Screenshot of mobile version of blog
Related articles
Friedrich Huebler, 17 December 2010 (edited 18 December 2010), Creative Commons License
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/12/mobile.html
30 November 2010
Children out of school: Global trend 1999-2008
68 million children of primary school age were out of school in 2008 according to estimates by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). Compared to 1999, when 106 million children were out of school, this is a decrease of over 38 million (see Figure 1). However, in spite of the observed progress over the last decade, the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education by 2015 will not be reached if current trends continue unchanged.
Figure 1: Children of primary school age out of school, 1999-2008
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Data Centre, November 2010.
The UIS also publishes data on the regional distribution of children out of school, but complete data are only available until 2007. 43 percent - 30.4 million - of all children out of school in 2007 lived in sub-Saharan Africa (see Figure 2). A further 25 percent - 17.7 million - lived in South and West Asia. These two regions combined accounted for two thirds of the global out-of-school population. The shares of the remaining regions were as follows: 13 percent of all children out of school lived in East Asia and the Pacific, 9 percent in the Arab States, 4 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean, 3 percent in North America and Western Europe, 2 percent in Central and Eastern Europe, and less than 1 percent in Central Asia.
Figure 2: Regional distribution of children out of school, 2007
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Data Centre, November 2010.
Regional and global estimates of the number of children out of school can be obtained from the UIS Data Centre. On the main Data Centre page at stats.uis.unesco.org, click on Predefined Tables and then Education. Table 20H, "Regional sum of primary school age children out of school", lists the total, male and female number of children of primary school age out of school for the period 1999 to 2008.
Related articles
Friedrich Huebler, 30 November 2010 (edited 17 December 2010), Creative Commons License
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/11/oos.html
Figure 1: Children of primary school age out of school, 1999-2008
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Data Centre, November 2010.
The UIS also publishes data on the regional distribution of children out of school, but complete data are only available until 2007. 43 percent - 30.4 million - of all children out of school in 2007 lived in sub-Saharan Africa (see Figure 2). A further 25 percent - 17.7 million - lived in South and West Asia. These two regions combined accounted for two thirds of the global out-of-school population. The shares of the remaining regions were as follows: 13 percent of all children out of school lived in East Asia and the Pacific, 9 percent in the Arab States, 4 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean, 3 percent in North America and Western Europe, 2 percent in Central and Eastern Europe, and less than 1 percent in Central Asia.
Figure 2: Regional distribution of children out of school, 2007
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Data Centre, November 2010.
Regional and global estimates of the number of children out of school can be obtained from the UIS Data Centre. On the main Data Centre page at stats.uis.unesco.org, click on Predefined Tables and then Education. Table 20H, "Regional sum of primary school age children out of school", lists the total, male and female number of children of primary school age out of school for the period 1999 to 2008.
Related articles
- Children of primary and secondary school age out of school
- Global population of primary school age, 2000-2015
- Population structure and children out of school
- National wealth and school enrollment
- Regional disparities in school life expectancy
- Universal primary education by 2015: A goal out of reach?
Friedrich Huebler, 30 November 2010 (edited 17 December 2010), Creative Commons License
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/11/oos.html
31 October 2010
UN Millennium Development Goals Report 2010
On 20-22 September 2010, world leaders met at the United Nations in New York on the occasion of the 10-year anniversary of the Millennium Summit of 2000. One outcome of the 2000 Summit was the adoption of eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).- Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
- Achieve universal primary education
- Promote gender equality and empower women
- Reduce child mortality
- Improve maternal health
- Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
- Ensure environmental sustainability
- Develop a global partnership for development
Reference
- United Nations. 2010. The millennium development goals report 2010. New York: United Nations. (Download PDF, 8.5 MB)
- Millennium Development Goals (United Nations)
- Millennium Development Goals (United Nations Development Programme)
- Millennium Development Goals Indicators
- MDG Monitor
- Millennium Campaign
- Global Education Digest 2010
- EFA Global Monitoring Report 2010
- Official MDG targets and indicators
- NER, GER and universal primary education
- Survival rate to the last grade of primary school
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/10/mdg.html
19 September 2010
Global Education Digest 2010
On 17 September, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) announced the publication of the Global Education Digest 2010. This year's edition of the GED focuses on gender and education.The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) call for the elimination of gender disparity at all levels of education by 2015 but according to the GED, only 85 of 157 countries with data will have reached gender parity in primary and secondary education by 2015, if current trends continue. 23 countries are unlikely to reach the goal at the primary level and 63 countries are unlikely to do so at the secondary level.
Gender disparities in access to education are greatest in sub-Saharan Africa, South and West Asia, and to a lesser extent in the Arab States. In these regions, fewer girls than boys are enrolled in primary, secondary and tertiary education. The opposite - gender disparity in favor of girls - can be observed in tertiary education in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America and Western Europe.
Other topics discussed in the Global Education Digest 2010 include: the differences between boys and girls in terms of progression through and completion of primary and secondary education; the interaction between gender, socio-economic status, geographic location, ethnicity and other factors as determinants of participation in education; differences in learning achievement of boys and girls; trends in adult literacy; women's choice of field of study at the tertiary level of education; and national education policies.
The statistical tables in the GED were updated with data up to 2008 for most indicators. All data are also available at the UIS Data Centre.
Reference
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). 2010. Global education digest 2010: Comparing education statistics across the world. Montreal: UIS. (Download in PDF format, 8 MB)
Related articles
- Global Education Digest 2009
- UNESCO releases data from 2008 education survey
- EFA Global Monitoring Report 2010
- Official MDG targets and indicators
- Trends in adult literacy, 1990-2008
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/09/ged.html
08 September 2010
Trends in adult literacy, 1990-2008
8 September is International Literacy Day, which was first celebrated in 1966. New estimates of adult and youth literacy by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) show that the percentage of literate persons continues to grow worldwide. Even so, in 2008, 796 million adults aged 15 years or older - 17% of all adults worldwide - still lacked basic reading and writing skills and 64% of them were women (see UIS fact sheet on adult and youth literacy). By comparison, 24% of all adults were illiterate in 1990.
Figure 1 displays how the adult literacy rate and the associated gender parity index (GPI) have evolved between 1990 and 2008 for the 10 Millennium Development Goal regions and for the world as a whole. The gender parity index is the ratio of the female over the male literacy rate. For example, the female and male literacy rate in 2008 - 78.9% and 88.2%, respectively - yield a GPI of 0.9 (see Table 1). A GPI between 0.97 and 1.03 is usually considered gender parity. At GPI values below 1, women are disadvantaged and at GPI values above 1, men are disadvantaged. If a country or region reaches universal literacy, with male and female literacy rates of 100%, the GPI must be 1 by definition. This can be seen in the developed regions and in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), both of which are near universal literacy with a GPI of 1.
Figure 1: Adult literacy rate and gender parity, 1990-2008
Data source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Data Centre, September 2010.
At the global level, both the adult literacy rate and gender parity improved over the past 20 years. The literacy rate grew from 76% in 1990 to 83% in 2008 and the GPI from 0.84 to 0.90 (see Table 1). Progress was especially strong in Northern Africa, where the adult literacy rate increased by 20%, and in Eastern and Southern Asia, which saw an increase of 15%. In Northern Africa and Southern Asia less than half of all adults were literate in 1990, less than in any other region. In 2008, the lowest literacy rates were observed in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, with 62% and 63%, respectively. However, even sub-Saharan Africa managed to increase the share of adults with basic reading and writing skills by 9% between 1990 and 2008. In the remaining regions, the increase in the adult literacy rate over the past two decades was as follows: Western Asia 11%; South-Eastern Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean 7%; Oceania 4%; CIS 1%; and the developed regions 0.3%. The rate of increase in the developed regions and in the CIS countries was neglible because both regions had already reached near-universal adult literacy in 1990. Literacy rates are also high in Eastern Asia, South-Eastern Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean; in all three regions more than 9 out of 10 adults are able to read and write.
Gender parity also improved in all MDG regions, with Northern Africa again showing the biggest increase, from 0.57 in 1990 to 0.76 in 2008, followed by Eastern Asia and Southern Asia, where the GPI increased by 0.14 over the same period. In spite of this increase, Southern Asia continues to exhibit relatively high gender disparity in adult literacy, with a GPI of 0.70. The UIS reports similar disparities for sub-Saharan Africa (0.75) and Northern Africa (0.76). In the other regions the GPI for adult literacy was as follows in 2008: Western Asia 0.84, Oceania 0.89, Eastern Asia 0.94, South-Eastern Asia 0.95, and CIS and the developed regions 1.00.
Table 1: Adult literacy rate and gender parity, 1990-2008
Data source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Data Centre, September 2010.
National and regional literacy rates can be obtained from the UIS Data Centre. From the main Data Centre page at stats.uis.unesco.org, click on Predefined Tables and then Literacy. National literacy rates are available for the years 1975 to 2008. Regional and global literacy rates are presented by census decade, from 1985-1994 to 2005-2008.
Related articles
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/09/lit.html
Figure 1 displays how the adult literacy rate and the associated gender parity index (GPI) have evolved between 1990 and 2008 for the 10 Millennium Development Goal regions and for the world as a whole. The gender parity index is the ratio of the female over the male literacy rate. For example, the female and male literacy rate in 2008 - 78.9% and 88.2%, respectively - yield a GPI of 0.9 (see Table 1). A GPI between 0.97 and 1.03 is usually considered gender parity. At GPI values below 1, women are disadvantaged and at GPI values above 1, men are disadvantaged. If a country or region reaches universal literacy, with male and female literacy rates of 100%, the GPI must be 1 by definition. This can be seen in the developed regions and in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), both of which are near universal literacy with a GPI of 1.
Figure 1: Adult literacy rate and gender parity, 1990-2008
Data source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Data Centre, September 2010.
At the global level, both the adult literacy rate and gender parity improved over the past 20 years. The literacy rate grew from 76% in 1990 to 83% in 2008 and the GPI from 0.84 to 0.90 (see Table 1). Progress was especially strong in Northern Africa, where the adult literacy rate increased by 20%, and in Eastern and Southern Asia, which saw an increase of 15%. In Northern Africa and Southern Asia less than half of all adults were literate in 1990, less than in any other region. In 2008, the lowest literacy rates were observed in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, with 62% and 63%, respectively. However, even sub-Saharan Africa managed to increase the share of adults with basic reading and writing skills by 9% between 1990 and 2008. In the remaining regions, the increase in the adult literacy rate over the past two decades was as follows: Western Asia 11%; South-Eastern Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean 7%; Oceania 4%; CIS 1%; and the developed regions 0.3%. The rate of increase in the developed regions and in the CIS countries was neglible because both regions had already reached near-universal adult literacy in 1990. Literacy rates are also high in Eastern Asia, South-Eastern Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean; in all three regions more than 9 out of 10 adults are able to read and write.
Gender parity also improved in all MDG regions, with Northern Africa again showing the biggest increase, from 0.57 in 1990 to 0.76 in 2008, followed by Eastern Asia and Southern Asia, where the GPI increased by 0.14 over the same period. In spite of this increase, Southern Asia continues to exhibit relatively high gender disparity in adult literacy, with a GPI of 0.70. The UIS reports similar disparities for sub-Saharan Africa (0.75) and Northern Africa (0.76). In the other regions the GPI for adult literacy was as follows in 2008: Western Asia 0.84, Oceania 0.89, Eastern Asia 0.94, South-Eastern Asia 0.95, and CIS and the developed regions 1.00.
Table 1: Adult literacy rate and gender parity, 1990-2008
| MDG region | Year | Adult literacy rate (%) | |||
| Total | Male | Female | GPI | ||
| Developed regions | 1990 | 98.7 | 99.0 | 98.4 | 0.99 |
| 2008 | 99.0 | 99.2 | 98.9 | 1.00 | |
| Commonwealth of Independent States | 1990 | 98.1 | 99.4 | 97.1 | 0.98 |
| 2008 | 99.5 | 99.7 | 99.4 | 1.00 | |
| Eastern Asia | 1990 | 78.9 | 87.7 | 69.7 | 0.80 |
| 2008 | 93.8 | 96.8 | 90.7 | 0.94 | |
| South-Eastern Asia | 1990 | 84.8 | 90.0 | 80.0 | 0.89 |
| 2008 | 91.9 | 94.5 | 89.5 | 0.95 | |
| Southern Asia | 1990 | 47.3 | 60.1 | 33.5 | 0.56 |
| 2008 | 61.9 | 73.2 | 50.9 | 0.70 | |
| Western Asia | 1990 | 73.8 | 84.2 | 62.6 | 0.74 |
| 2008 | 84.5 | 91.5 | 76.9 | 0.84 | |
| Northern Africa | 1990 | 47.8 | 60.8 | 34.6 | 0.57 |
| 2008 | 67.3 | 76.7 | 58.1 | 0.76 | |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 1990 | 53.1 | 63.7 | 43.1 | 0.68 |
| 2008 | 62.5 | 71.6 | 53.6 | 0.75 | |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | 1990 | 84.4 | 85.9 | 82.8 | 0.96 |
| 2008 | 91.0 | 91.9 | 90.3 | 0.98 | |
| Oceania | 1990 | 62.9 | 68.9 | 56.5 | 0.82 |
| 2008 | 66.4 | 70.2 | 62.6 | 0.89 | |
| World | 1990 | 75.7 | 82.2 | 69.2 | 0.84 |
| 2008 | 83.4 | 88.2 | 78.9 | 0.90 | |
National and regional literacy rates can be obtained from the UIS Data Centre. From the main Data Centre page at stats.uis.unesco.org, click on Predefined Tables and then Literacy. National literacy rates are available for the years 1975 to 2008. Regional and global literacy rates are presented by census decade, from 1985-1994 to 2005-2008.
Related articles
- Literacy data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics
- Adult literacy in 2007
- Disparity between male and female literacy rates
- Disparity between adult and youth literacy
- Adult literacy in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Reported and tested literacy in Nigeria
- Adult literacy in Nigeria
- Millennium Development Goal regions
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
- UIS Data Centre
- UIS announcement for International Literacy Day
- UIS fact sheet on adult and youth literacy (PDF, 664 KB)
- UNESCO page for International Literacy Day
- International Literacy Day (United Nations)
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/09/lit.html
31 August 2010
Update to "Integrating Stata and external text editors"
The guide to integrating the Stata statistical package with an external text editor has been updated. One more screenshot was added to the instructions and the list of supported editors was revised. The rundo and rundolines programs have been confirmed to work with Crimson Editor, EditPlus, EmEditor, Notepad++, PSPad, TextPad, TeXnicCenter, and UltraEdit. In addition, previous versions of the programs were reported to work with gVim, Hidemaru, jEdit, SciTE, Vim, and WinEdt.
External links
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/08/stata.html
External links
- Stata, official site
- Guide to integrating Stata and external text editors
- Guide to creating maps with Stata
- Guide to creating PNG images with Stata
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/08/stata.html
30 July 2010
Review of the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED)
The International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) was developed by UNESCO in the 1970s as a framework for the international comparison of national education statistics and indicators. The current version of ISCED was adopted in 1997. The text of the classification is available on the website of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) in the six official UN languages.
Figure 1: Cover of ISCED 1997 in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese
Table 1 lists the seven levels of education defined in ISCED 1997: pre-primary (level 0), primary (level 1), lower secondary (level 2), upper secondary (level 3), post-secondary non-tertiary (level 4), first stage of tertiary (level 5), and second stage of tertiary (level 6).
Table 1: Levels of education in ISCED 1997
Source: UIS, 2009, Global education digest 2009, Annex C
To assign national education programmes to internationally comparable ISCED levels, ISCED mappings are produced by the UIS in collaboration with national authorities in UNESCO member states. As an example, Figure 2 shows the ISCED mapping for Mozambique. The columns on the left half of the table list national education programmes, and the right half of the table lists the corresponding ISCED levels, from pre-primary to tertiary education. The information on ISCED levels is used to generate internationally comparable data on primary or secondary school enrolment and other indicators. For example, UIS estimates on the number of children out of school are produced by referring to primary and lower secondary school ages defined by ISCED.
Figure 2: ISCED mapping for Mozambique
Source: ISCED mappings, UIS, July 2010
Changes in national education systems since the adoption of ISCED 1997, as well as problems with its implementation, made it necessary to review the existing classification. At the UNESCO General Conference in October 2007, the UIS was appointed to lead such a review. In 2009 and 2010, an international panel of experts discussed the current classification and drafted a new ISCED. The most important areas under review were the classification of post-secondary and tertiary education, criteria to define the orientation (general or vocational) and destination (labour market or further education) of secondary education, the coverage of early childhood care and education (ECCE) and of technical and vocational education and training (TVET), the definition of educational attainment, and the classification of non-formal education.
A global consultation on ISCED began in June 2010, with the distribution of the draft of a new ISCED to national statistical offices, education ministries, policy makers, and experts working in the field of statistical classifications. The feedback from this consultation will be incorporated into the final recommendations that will be submitted for approval to the UNESCO General Conference in 2011.
More information on ISCED and on the current review is available on the ISCED web page of the UIS. The page offers background documents on the review and reports from meetings that took place between 2009 and 2010.
Related articles
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/07/isced.html
Figure 1: Cover of ISCED 1997 in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese
Table 1 lists the seven levels of education defined in ISCED 1997: pre-primary (level 0), primary (level 1), lower secondary (level 2), upper secondary (level 3), post-secondary non-tertiary (level 4), first stage of tertiary (level 5), and second stage of tertiary (level 6).
Table 1: Levels of education in ISCED 1997
| ISCED level | Description |
| 0 | Pre-primary education Initial stage of organized instruction, designed primarily to introduce very young children to a school-type environment. |
| 1 | Primary education Normally designed to give pupils a sound basic education in reading, writing and mathematics. |
| 2 | Lower secondary education The lower secondary level of education generally continues the basic programmes of the primary level, although teaching is typically more subject-focused, often employing more specialised teachers who conduct classes in their field of specialisation. |
| 3 | Upper secondary education The final stage of secondary education in most countries. Instruction is often more organised along subject-matter lines than at ISCED level 2 and teachers typically need to have a higher level, or more subject-specific, qualification than at ISCED 2. |
| 4 | Post-secondary non-tertiary education These programmes straddle the boundary between upper secondary and postsecondary education from an international point of view, even though they might clearly be considered as upper secondary or post-secondary programmes in a national context. They are often not significantly more advanced than programmes at ISCED 3 but they serve to broaden the knowledge of participants who have already completed a programme at level 3. The students are typically older than those in ISCED 3 programmes. ISCED 4 programmes typically have a duration of 6 months to 2 years. |
| 5 | First stage of tertiary education ISCED 5 programmes have an educational content more advanced than those offered at levels 3 and 4. ISCED 5A programmes are largely theoretically based and are intended to provide sufficient qualifications for gaining entry into advanced research programmes and professions with high skills requirements. ISCED 5B programmes are generally more practical/technical/occupationally specific than ISCED 5A programmes. |
| 6 | Second stage of tertiary educationThis level is reserved for tertiary programmes that lead to the award of an advanced research qualification. The programmes are devoted to advanced study and original research. |
To assign national education programmes to internationally comparable ISCED levels, ISCED mappings are produced by the UIS in collaboration with national authorities in UNESCO member states. As an example, Figure 2 shows the ISCED mapping for Mozambique. The columns on the left half of the table list national education programmes, and the right half of the table lists the corresponding ISCED levels, from pre-primary to tertiary education. The information on ISCED levels is used to generate internationally comparable data on primary or secondary school enrolment and other indicators. For example, UIS estimates on the number of children out of school are produced by referring to primary and lower secondary school ages defined by ISCED.
Figure 2: ISCED mapping for Mozambique
Source: ISCED mappings, UIS, July 2010
Changes in national education systems since the adoption of ISCED 1997, as well as problems with its implementation, made it necessary to review the existing classification. At the UNESCO General Conference in October 2007, the UIS was appointed to lead such a review. In 2009 and 2010, an international panel of experts discussed the current classification and drafted a new ISCED. The most important areas under review were the classification of post-secondary and tertiary education, criteria to define the orientation (general or vocational) and destination (labour market or further education) of secondary education, the coverage of early childhood care and education (ECCE) and of technical and vocational education and training (TVET), the definition of educational attainment, and the classification of non-formal education.
A global consultation on ISCED began in June 2010, with the distribution of the draft of a new ISCED to national statistical offices, education ministries, policy makers, and experts working in the field of statistical classifications. The feedback from this consultation will be incorporated into the final recommendations that will be submitted for approval to the UNESCO General Conference in 2011.
More information on ISCED and on the current review is available on the ISCED web page of the UIS. The page offers background documents on the review and reports from meetings that took place between 2009 and 2010.
Related articles
- Children of primary and secondary school age out of school
- Primary school entrance age and duration
- Official school ages: primary, secondary, and compulsory education
- UNESCO
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
- UIS ISCED page
- UIS announcement of global consultation on draft ISCED 2011
- ISCED 1997 in English (PDF, 330 KB)
- ISCED 1997 in French (PDF, 476 KB)
- ISCED 1997 in Spanish (PDF, 381 KB)
- ISCED 1997 in Russian (PDF, 1.0 MB)
- ISCED 1997 in Arabic (PDF, 987 KB)
- ISCED 1997 in Chinese (PDF, 1.3 MB)
- ISCED mappings
- ISCED mapping for Mozambique (Excel, 1.2 MB)
- Global education digest 2009, UIS (PDF, 6.8 MB)
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/07/isced.html
28 June 2010
UNESCO releases data from 2008 education survey
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) has announced its main education data release for 2008. The UIS Data Centre is updated three times per year, in January, May-June, and in October. The current release adds new data on primary education for about 155 countries. New data are also available for secondary and tertiary education, for 135 and 103 countries, respectively.
Main page of UIS Data Centre
Source: stats.uis.unesco.org, June 2010
The data can be retrieved from predefined tables or custom tables. Data are also available in country and region profiles, and in global rankings for specific indicators. The Data Centre offers the following predefined tables.
Friedrich Huebler, 28 June 2010, Creative Commons License
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/06/uis.html
Main page of UIS Data Centre
Source: stats.uis.unesco.org, June 2010
The data can be retrieved from predefined tables or custom tables. Data are also available in country and region profiles, and in global rankings for specific indicators. The Data Centre offers the following predefined tables.
- Table 1: Education Systems
- Table 2: Demographic and economic data
- Table 3A: Enrolment of new entrants to primary education (ISCED 1)
- Table 3B: Enrolment by ISCED level
- Table 3C: Enrolment of pupils of the official age in pre-primary, primary and secondary education (ISCED 0-3)
- Table 3D: Enrolment by grade in primary education (ISCED 1)
- Table 3E: Repeaters by grade in primary education (ISCED 1)
- Table 3F: Enrolment by grade in general secondary education (ISCED 2 and 3)
- Table 3G: Repeaters by grade in general secondary education (ISCED 2 and 3)
- Table 4: Teaching staff by ISCED level
- Table 5: Enrolment ratios by ISCED level
- Table 6: Intake rates to primary education
- Table 7: Measures of children out of school
- Table 8: School life expectancy (approximation method)
- Table 9: Repetition rates and percentage of repeaters in primary education (ISCED 1)
- Table 10: Percentage of repeaters in general secondary education (ISCED 2 and 3)
- Table 11: Indicators on teaching staff at ISCED levels 0 to 3
- Table 12: Measures of progression and completion in primary education (ISCED 1)
- Table 13: Upper secondary (ISCED 3) graduation and entry to tertiary (ISCED 5) education. 2007 (selected countries)
- Table 14: Tertiary Indicators
- Table 15: Enrolments by broad field of education in tertiary education
- Table 16: Graduates by broad field of education in tertiary education
- Table 17: Inbound mobility rate, female percentage, and sums of internationally mobile students in tertiary education by host country and continent of origin
- Table 18: International flows of mobile students at the tertiary level (ISCED 5 and 6)
- Table 19: Finance Indicators by ISCED level
- Table 20A: Regional sum of enrolment by ISCED level
- Table 20B: Regional sum of new entrants to primary education (ISCED 1)
- Table 20C: Regional sum of teaching staff by ISCED level
- Table 20D: Regional average of enrolment ratios for pre-primary to tertiary education (ISCED 0-6)
- Table 20E: Regional average of intake rates to primary education
- Table 20F: Regional average of indicators on teaching staff by ISCED level
- Table 20G: Regional average of school life expectancy (approximation method) by ISCED level
- Table 20H: Regional sum of primary school age children out of school
- UNESCO releases data from 2007 education survey
- UNESCO releases data from 2006 education survey
- Final release of data from UNESCO's 2005 education survey
Friedrich Huebler, 28 June 2010, Creative Commons License
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/06/uis.html
30 May 2010
Primary school entrance age and duration
Education for All (EFA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) both aim at universal primary education. All children worldwide should attend and complete primary school by 2015. However, national education systems differ and the meaning of primary education for all children therefore varies from country to country.
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) maintains a database with the entrance age and duration of primary education for 204 countries and territories. Table 1 summarizes the distribution of primary school entrance ages from the UIS database. In nearly two thirds of all countries, children are expected to enter primary school when they are 6 years old. In a further third of countries, the entrance age is 5 or 7 years. Two countries have different primary school entrance ages, Ireland with 4 years and Mongolia with 8 years..
Table 1: Primary school entrance age
Source: UIS Data Centre, May 2010.
The geographic distribution of the entrance ages is shown in the map in Figure 1. 6 years is the common primary school start age in most of North and South America, Western Europe, Africa, the Arab States, and East Asia, with some exceptions. 7 years is more common in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. 7 years is also the primary school start age in some large countries: Brazil, China and Russia.
Figure 1: Primary school entrance age
Source: UIS Data Centre, May 2010.
The duration of primary school, shown in Table 2, ranges from 3 to 8 years. In 126 of 204 countries and territories, primary school has a duration of 6 years. In about 25 countries each, the duration is 4, 5 or 7 years. The shortest duration, 3 years, is reported for Armenia, Russia and Turkmenistan. In Ireland, which has the earliest entrance age with 4 years, children have to attend primary school for 8 years.
Table 2: Primary school duration
Source: UIS Data Centre, May 2010.
The map in Figure 2 illustrates the primary school duration by country. 6 years is the most frequent duration in North and South America, East Asia and the Pacific, the Arab States and most of Africa except for Southern Africa, where 7 years is the most common primary school duration. In Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and South and West Asia, primary education is typically shorter, with a duration of 4 or 5 years.
Figure 2: Primary school duration
Source: UIS Data Centre, May 2010.
What are the implications of the different primary school entrance ages and durations for the MDG and EFA goal of universal primary education by 2015? The official duration of primary education is closely linked to the number of children out of school. As an example, assume that a country has a primary school duration of 5 years and that the number of children in and out of school is evenly distributed across the official primary school ages. Shortening the duration of primary school from 5 to 4 years would immediately reduce the number of children out of school by 20 percent. However, the primary school net enrollment rate, the official indicator for the MDG of universal primary education, would not change and the country would therefore not be closer to the 2015 goal.
Related articles
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/05/age.html
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) maintains a database with the entrance age and duration of primary education for 204 countries and territories. Table 1 summarizes the distribution of primary school entrance ages from the UIS database. In nearly two thirds of all countries, children are expected to enter primary school when they are 6 years old. In a further third of countries, the entrance age is 5 or 7 years. Two countries have different primary school entrance ages, Ireland with 4 years and Mongolia with 8 years..
Table 1: Primary school entrance age
| Age | Countries | Percent |
| 4 years | 1 | 0.5 |
| 5 years | 29 | 14.2 |
| 6 years | 126 | 61.8 |
| 7 years | 47 | 23.0 |
| 8 years | 1 | 0.5 |
| Total | 204 | 100.0 |
The geographic distribution of the entrance ages is shown in the map in Figure 1. 6 years is the common primary school start age in most of North and South America, Western Europe, Africa, the Arab States, and East Asia, with some exceptions. 7 years is more common in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. 7 years is also the primary school start age in some large countries: Brazil, China and Russia.
Figure 1: Primary school entrance age
Source: UIS Data Centre, May 2010.
The duration of primary school, shown in Table 2, ranges from 3 to 8 years. In 126 of 204 countries and territories, primary school has a duration of 6 years. In about 25 countries each, the duration is 4, 5 or 7 years. The shortest duration, 3 years, is reported for Armenia, Russia and Turkmenistan. In Ireland, which has the earliest entrance age with 4 years, children have to attend primary school for 8 years.
Table 2: Primary school duration
| Age | Countries | Percent |
| 3 years | 3 | 1.5 |
| 4 years | 26 | 12.8 |
| 5 years | 23 | 11.3 |
| 6 years | 126 | 61.8 |
| 7 years | 25 | 12.3 |
| 8 years | 1 | 0.5 |
| Total | 204 | 100.0 |
The map in Figure 2 illustrates the primary school duration by country. 6 years is the most frequent duration in North and South America, East Asia and the Pacific, the Arab States and most of Africa except for Southern Africa, where 7 years is the most common primary school duration. In Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and South and West Asia, primary education is typically shorter, with a duration of 4 or 5 years.
Figure 2: Primary school duration
Source: UIS Data Centre, May 2010.
What are the implications of the different primary school entrance ages and durations for the MDG and EFA goal of universal primary education by 2015? The official duration of primary education is closely linked to the number of children out of school. As an example, assume that a country has a primary school duration of 5 years and that the number of children in and out of school is evenly distributed across the official primary school ages. Shortening the duration of primary school from 5 to 4 years would immediately reduce the number of children out of school by 20 percent. However, the primary school net enrollment rate, the official indicator for the MDG of universal primary education, would not change and the country would therefore not be closer to the 2015 goal.
Related articles
- Official school ages: primary, secondary, and compulsory education
- Children of primary and secondary school age out of school
- NER, GER and universal primary education
- Universal primary education by 2015: A goal out of reach?
- Trends in primary school enrollment, 1970-2004
- Regional disparities in school life expectancy
- Official MDG targets and indicators
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
- UIS Data Centre
- Education for All goals
- Millennium Development Goals
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/05/age.html
30 April 2010
Age distribution by wealth quintile in household survey data
Household survey data may not contain precise ages for all household members. Age heaping, an unusually high share of ages ending in 0 and 5, is especially common in survey data from developing countries. Age heaping can be caused by uncertainty of survey respondents about their own age or the age of other household members, intentional misreporting, or errors during data collection and processing. Errors in age data can affect the estimation of education indicators from household survey data because these indicators are often calculated for specific age groups. Examples include the youth literacy rate and school attendance rates for the population of primary and secondary school age.
An article on age distribution in household survey data on this site demonstrated age heaping in survey data from India, Nigeria and to a lesser extent Indonesia. Data for Brazil showed little to no age heaping. To investigate whether age heaping is more common among certain segments of the population, the survey samples can be disaggregated by household wealth quintile. For this purpose, the households in the sample are first ranked by wealth, from poorest to richest. The population is then divided into five equally sized groups with 20 percent each of all household members in the sample.
Figure 1 shows the age distribution by single year of age and wealth quintile in data from Brazil. The data were collected in 2006 with a Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD) or National Household Sample Survey. No preference for ages ending in 0 and 5 could be observed for the entire survey sample combined and disaggregation does not change the result. The age distribution in each quintile is smooth, with no peaks at ages ending in 0 and 5. The only obvious difference between the population in the different quintiles is that poorer families tend to have more children, indicated by a peak in the age distribution in the younger age groups.
Figure 1: Age distribution in household survey data by single-year age group and household wealth quintile, Brazil
Data source: Brazil PNAD 2006.
Figure 2 shows the age distribution in Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from India. The data were collected in 2005-06. In contrast to Brazil, there is considerable age heaping in the Indian data. However, peaks around ages ending in 0 and 5 are more pronounced among poorer households. Increasing household wealth is associated with a decrease in age heaping.
Figure 2: Age distribution in household survey data by single-year age group and household wealth quintile, India
Data source: India DHS 2005-06.
Data from Indonesia, collected with a Demographic and Health Survey in 2007, are shown in Figure 3. At the aggregate level, the survey data from Indonesia exhibit little age heaping. However, disaggregation by wealth quintile reveals that reported ages ending in 0 and 5 are more common among poorer households.
Figure 3: Age distribution in household survey data by single-year age group and household wealth quintile, Indonesia
Data source: Indonesia DHS 2007.
Finally, Figure 4 displays data from a 2008 Demographic and Health Survey in Nigeria. Similar to India, there is a high percentage of ages ending in 0 and 5 in the combined survey sample. The disaggregated data show that age heaping occurs more frequently among poorer households but also exists in the richest wealth quintile.
Figure 4: Age distribution in household survey data by single-year age group and household wealth quintile, Nigeria
Data source: Nigeria DHS 2008.
Disaggregation of household survey data from Brazil, India, Indonesia and Nigeria has shown that age heaping occurs more frequently in data collected from poorer households. Wealthier households may have more access to birth registration and therefore may be able to verify their ages with birth certificates. Wealthier households are also likely to be smaller and survey respondents would therefore have to know and report the ages of fewer persons than respondents from larger households.
Age heaping in survey data reduces the accuracy of education indicators that are calculated for single years of age, for example for all children of primary school entrance or graduation age. However, indicator estimates for larger age groups, for example all children of primary or secondary school age, are less likely to be affected by errors in age data.
Related articles
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/04/age.html
An article on age distribution in household survey data on this site demonstrated age heaping in survey data from India, Nigeria and to a lesser extent Indonesia. Data for Brazil showed little to no age heaping. To investigate whether age heaping is more common among certain segments of the population, the survey samples can be disaggregated by household wealth quintile. For this purpose, the households in the sample are first ranked by wealth, from poorest to richest. The population is then divided into five equally sized groups with 20 percent each of all household members in the sample.
Figure 1 shows the age distribution by single year of age and wealth quintile in data from Brazil. The data were collected in 2006 with a Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD) or National Household Sample Survey. No preference for ages ending in 0 and 5 could be observed for the entire survey sample combined and disaggregation does not change the result. The age distribution in each quintile is smooth, with no peaks at ages ending in 0 and 5. The only obvious difference between the population in the different quintiles is that poorer families tend to have more children, indicated by a peak in the age distribution in the younger age groups.
Figure 1: Age distribution in household survey data by single-year age group and household wealth quintile, Brazil
Data source: Brazil PNAD 2006.
Figure 2 shows the age distribution in Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from India. The data were collected in 2005-06. In contrast to Brazil, there is considerable age heaping in the Indian data. However, peaks around ages ending in 0 and 5 are more pronounced among poorer households. Increasing household wealth is associated with a decrease in age heaping.
Figure 2: Age distribution in household survey data by single-year age group and household wealth quintile, India
Data source: India DHS 2005-06.
Data from Indonesia, collected with a Demographic and Health Survey in 2007, are shown in Figure 3. At the aggregate level, the survey data from Indonesia exhibit little age heaping. However, disaggregation by wealth quintile reveals that reported ages ending in 0 and 5 are more common among poorer households.
Figure 3: Age distribution in household survey data by single-year age group and household wealth quintile, Indonesia
Data source: Indonesia DHS 2007.
Finally, Figure 4 displays data from a 2008 Demographic and Health Survey in Nigeria. Similar to India, there is a high percentage of ages ending in 0 and 5 in the combined survey sample. The disaggregated data show that age heaping occurs more frequently among poorer households but also exists in the richest wealth quintile.
Figure 4: Age distribution in household survey data by single-year age group and household wealth quintile, Nigeria
Data source: Nigeria DHS 2008.
Disaggregation of household survey data from Brazil, India, Indonesia and Nigeria has shown that age heaping occurs more frequently in data collected from poorer households. Wealthier households may have more access to birth registration and therefore may be able to verify their ages with birth certificates. Wealthier households are also likely to be smaller and survey respondents would therefore have to know and report the ages of fewer persons than respondents from larger households.
Age heaping in survey data reduces the accuracy of education indicators that are calculated for single years of age, for example for all children of primary school entrance or graduation age. However, indicator estimates for larger age groups, for example all children of primary or secondary school age, are less likely to be affected by errors in age data.
Related articles
- Age distribution in household survey data
- Educational attainment in Brazil since 1920
- School attendance in Brazil
- Educational attainment in India, 1950-2000
- Primary school completion in India, 1950-2000
- Age and level of education in Nigeria
- Adult literacy in Nigeria
- Youth literacy rates
- Official school ages: primary, secondary, and compulsory education
- Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS)
- Brazil National Household Sample Survey 2006
- Education glossary by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/04/age.html
28 March 2010
Children of primary and secondary school age out of school
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) publishes annual estimates of the number of children of primary school age out of school. A recent paper by Michael Bruneforth and Peter Wallet, Out-of-school adolescents (UIS 2010), extends the analysis to children of lower secondary school age. Any child enrolled in primary, secondary or tertiary education is considered in school, regardless of the child's age. Only children that are truly excluded from education are counted as out of school.
The paper's regional and global estimates of the number and percent of children out of school are reproduced in this article. Table 1 lists the population of primary and lower secondary school age in 2007. Worldwide there were about 653 million children of primary school age and 388 million children of lower secondary school age. More than half of these children lived in South and West Asia and East Asia and the Pacific.
Table 1: Population of primary and lower secondary school age by region (million), 2007
Source: UIS 2010, page 10, Table 1; author's calculations. - Note: Figures may not sum due to rounding.
Figure 1 illustrates the regional distribution of the population of primary and lower secondary school age. The number of children in these age groups is plotted along the horizontal axis. The vertical axis indicates the share of children of primary and lower secondary school age in each region. The regions with the largest number of school-age children in 2007 were South and West Asia (284 million), East Asia and the Pacific (281 million), and Sub-Saharan Africa (183 million). More than 60 percent of the combined population of primary and lower secondary school age were of primary school age. Central Asia and Central and Eastern Europe were exceptions, with a greater share of children of lower secondary school age than in other regions. The large share of primary-age children in Sub-Saharan Africa is a symptom of its high population growth rate.
Figure 1: Population of primary and lower secondary school age by region, 2007
Source: UIS 2010, page 10, Table 1; author's calculations. - CEE: Central and Eastern Europe, NAWE: North America and Western Europe, LAC: Latin America and the Caribbean.
The share and number of children out of school are listed in Table 2. At the global level, 11 percent or 72 million of all children of primary school age and 18 percent or 71 million of all children of lower secondary school age were out of school. The combined global share of children out of school was 14 percent. Out-of-school rates were highest in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 26 percent of all primary school-age children and 37 percent of all secondary school-age children were excluded from education.
Table 2: Children of primary and lower secondary school age out of school by region, 2007
Source: UIS 2010, page 10, Table 1.
As illustrated in Figure 2, out-of-school rates are always higher at the secondary level of education than at the primary level. This is not surprising because not all students complete primary education and not all of those who graduate from primary school transfer to secondary school to continue their education. In addition to Sub-Saharan Africa, South and West Asia (27 percent) and the Arab States (20 percent) also had a high share of children of secondary school age out of school.
Figure 2: Children of primary and lower secondary school age out of school by region, 2007
Source: UIS 2010, page 10, Table 1.
The distribution of children out of school by region in 2007 is shown in Figure 3. A comparison with the population distribution in Figure 1 makes clear that children from Sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia were disproportionately more likely to be out of school than children from other regions. More than two thirds of the 143 million out-of-school children of primary and lower secondary age were from Sub-Saharan Africa (54 million) and South and West Asia (47 million). 20 million children out of school lived in East Asia and 10 million in the Arab States. The remaining 13 million children out of school were from Latin America and the Caribbean (5 million), Central and Eastern Europe (3.5 million), North America and Western Europe (3.3 million), and Central Asia (0.7 million).
Figure 3: Children of primary and lower secondary school age out of school by region, 2007
Source: UIS 2010, page 10, Table 1. - CEE: Central and Eastern Europe, NAWE: North America and Western Europe, LAC: Latin America and the Caribbean.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, the Arab States, North America and Western Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean most children out of school were of primary age. In South and West Asia, East Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe most children out of school were of lower secondary age. At the global level, the number of out-of-school children of primary school age and lower secondary school age was roughly equal (see Table 2).
References
Friedrich Huebler, 28 March 2010 (edited 17 August 2011), Creative Commons License
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/03/coos.html
The paper's regional and global estimates of the number and percent of children out of school are reproduced in this article. Table 1 lists the population of primary and lower secondary school age in 2007. Worldwide there were about 653 million children of primary school age and 388 million children of lower secondary school age. More than half of these children lived in South and West Asia and East Asia and the Pacific.
Table 1: Population of primary and lower secondary school age by region (million), 2007
| Region | Primary | Lower secondary | Total |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 124.9 | 57.9 | 182.7 |
| Arab States | 41.4 | 21.9 | 63.5 |
| South and West Asia | 176.8 | 106.8 | 284.2 |
| Central Asia | 5.6 | 8.0 | 13.8 |
| East Asia and the Pacific | 173.8 | 106.5 | 281.2 |
| Central and Eastern Europe | 22.2 | 20.3 | 42.1 |
| North America and Western Europe | 50.8 | 31.0 | 81.6 |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | 58.6 | 35.9 | 93.7 |
| World | 652.6 | 388.2 | 1042.5 |
Figure 1 illustrates the regional distribution of the population of primary and lower secondary school age. The number of children in these age groups is plotted along the horizontal axis. The vertical axis indicates the share of children of primary and lower secondary school age in each region. The regions with the largest number of school-age children in 2007 were South and West Asia (284 million), East Asia and the Pacific (281 million), and Sub-Saharan Africa (183 million). More than 60 percent of the combined population of primary and lower secondary school age were of primary school age. Central Asia and Central and Eastern Europe were exceptions, with a greater share of children of lower secondary school age than in other regions. The large share of primary-age children in Sub-Saharan Africa is a symptom of its high population growth rate.
Figure 1: Population of primary and lower secondary school age by region, 2007
Source: UIS 2010, page 10, Table 1; author's calculations. - CEE: Central and Eastern Europe, NAWE: North America and Western Europe, LAC: Latin America and the Caribbean.
The share and number of children out of school are listed in Table 2. At the global level, 11 percent or 72 million of all children of primary school age and 18 percent or 71 million of all children of lower secondary school age were out of school. The combined global share of children out of school was 14 percent. Out-of-school rates were highest in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 26 percent of all primary school-age children and 37 percent of all secondary school-age children were excluded from education.
Table 2: Children of primary and lower secondary school age out of school by region, 2007
| Region | Primary | Lower secondary | Total | |||
| Percent | Million | Percent | Million | Percent | Million | |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 25.8 | 32.2 | 36.8 | 21.3 | 29.3 | 53.5 |
| Arab States | 13.9 | 5.8 | 19.5 | 4.3 | 15.8 | 10.0 |
| South and West Asia | 10.2 | 18.0 | 27.3 | 29.1 | 16.6 | 47.2 |
| Central Asia | 4.8 | 0.3 | 4.9 | 0.4 | 4.8 | 0.7 |
| East Asia and the Pacific | 5.2 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 10.6 | 7.0 | 19.7 |
| Central and Eastern Europe | 7.0 | 1.6 | 9.6 | 1.9 | 8.3 | 3.5 |
| North America and Western Europe | 3.8 | 1.9 | 4.3 | 1.3 | 4.0 | 3.3 |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | 5.1 | 3.0 | 5.5 | 2.0 | 5.3 | 5.0 |
| World | 11.0 | 71.8 | 18.3 | 71.0 | 13.7 | 142.8 |
As illustrated in Figure 2, out-of-school rates are always higher at the secondary level of education than at the primary level. This is not surprising because not all students complete primary education and not all of those who graduate from primary school transfer to secondary school to continue their education. In addition to Sub-Saharan Africa, South and West Asia (27 percent) and the Arab States (20 percent) also had a high share of children of secondary school age out of school.
Figure 2: Children of primary and lower secondary school age out of school by region, 2007
Source: UIS 2010, page 10, Table 1.
The distribution of children out of school by region in 2007 is shown in Figure 3. A comparison with the population distribution in Figure 1 makes clear that children from Sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia were disproportionately more likely to be out of school than children from other regions. More than two thirds of the 143 million out-of-school children of primary and lower secondary age were from Sub-Saharan Africa (54 million) and South and West Asia (47 million). 20 million children out of school lived in East Asia and 10 million in the Arab States. The remaining 13 million children out of school were from Latin America and the Caribbean (5 million), Central and Eastern Europe (3.5 million), North America and Western Europe (3.3 million), and Central Asia (0.7 million).
Figure 3: Children of primary and lower secondary school age out of school by region, 2007
Source: UIS 2010, page 10, Table 1. - CEE: Central and Eastern Europe, NAWE: North America and Western Europe, LAC: Latin America and the Caribbean.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, the Arab States, North America and Western Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean most children out of school were of primary age. In South and West Asia, East Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe most children out of school were of lower secondary age. At the global level, the number of out-of-school children of primary school age and lower secondary school age was roughly equal (see Table 2).
References
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). 2010. Out-of-school adolescents. Montreal: UIS.
- Announcement of paper on UIS website
- Download English version (PDF, 208 KB)
- Download French version: Adolescents non scolarisés (PDF, 216 KB)
- Figures 1 and 3 were created with the spineplot add-on for Stata by Nicholas Cox.
- Cox, Nicholas J. 2008. "Speaking Stata: Spineplots and their kin." Stata Journal 8 (1): 105-121. http://www.stata-journal.com/article.html?article=gr0031
- Global population of primary school age, 2000-2015
- Population structure and children out of school
- National wealth and years of education
- National wealth and school enrollment
- Survival rate to the last grade of primary school
- Transition from primary to secondary education
- Regional disparities in school life expectancy
- School life expectancy
- Universal primary education by 2015: A goal out of reach?
- Trends in primary school enrollment, 1970-2004
- Regional trends in secondary school enrollment, 1980-2000
- Official school ages: primary, secondary, and compulsory education
Friedrich Huebler, 28 March 2010 (edited 17 August 2011), Creative Commons License
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/03/coos.html
28 February 2010
Age distribution in household survey data
Indicators in the field of education statistics, such as those defined in the education glossary of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, are typically calculated for specific age groups. For example, the youth literacy rate is for the population age 15 to 24 years, the adult literacy rate for the population age 15 and over, and the net attendance rates for primary and secondary education are for the population of primary and secondary school age, respectively. The net intake rate is an example for an indicator that is calculated for a single year of age, the official start age of primary school.
For a correct calculation of education indicators it is necessary to have precise age data. In the case of data collected with population censuses or household surveys this means that the ages recorded for each household member should be without error. However, census or survey data sometimes exhibit the phenomenon of age heaping, usually on ages ending in 0 and 5. Such heaping or digit preference occurs when survey respondents don't know their own age or the ages of other household members, or when ages are intentionally misreported.
The presence of age heaping can be tested with indices of age preference such as Whipple's index. Heaping can also be detected through visual inspection of the age distribution in household survey data. Figures 1 and 2 summarize the age distribution in survey data from Brazil, India, Indonesia and Nigeria. The data from Brazil were collected with a Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios or National Household Sample Survey in 2006. The data for the other three countries are from Demographic and Health Surveys conducted between 2005 and 2008.
Figure 1 shows the share of single years of age in the total survey sample. A preference for ages ending in 0 and 5 is strikingly obvious in the data from India and Nigeria. In the data from Indonesia, age heaping is also present, but to a lesser extent than for India and Nigeria. Lastly, the graph for Brazil is relatively smooth, indicating a near absence of age heaping.
Figure 1: Age distribution in survey data by single-year age group
Data source: Brazil PNAD 2006, India DHS 2005-06, Indonesia DHS 2007, Nigeria DHS 2008.
In Figure 2, single ages are combined in five-year age groups, from 0-4 years and 5-9 years to 90-94 years and 95 years and over. Compared to Figure 1, the distribution lines are much smoother, including for India and Nigeria. We can conclude that age heaping is problematic for education indicators that are calculated for single years, for example all children of primary school entrance age, but less so for indicators that are calculated for a larger age group, for example all children of primary or secondary school age or all persons over 15 years of age.
Figure 2: Age distribution in survey data by five-year age group
Data source: Brazil PNAD 2006, India DHS 2005-06, Indonesia DHS 2007, Nigeria DHS 2008.
Related articles
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/02/age.html
For a correct calculation of education indicators it is necessary to have precise age data. In the case of data collected with population censuses or household surveys this means that the ages recorded for each household member should be without error. However, census or survey data sometimes exhibit the phenomenon of age heaping, usually on ages ending in 0 and 5. Such heaping or digit preference occurs when survey respondents don't know their own age or the ages of other household members, or when ages are intentionally misreported.
The presence of age heaping can be tested with indices of age preference such as Whipple's index. Heaping can also be detected through visual inspection of the age distribution in household survey data. Figures 1 and 2 summarize the age distribution in survey data from Brazil, India, Indonesia and Nigeria. The data from Brazil were collected with a Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios or National Household Sample Survey in 2006. The data for the other three countries are from Demographic and Health Surveys conducted between 2005 and 2008.
Figure 1 shows the share of single years of age in the total survey sample. A preference for ages ending in 0 and 5 is strikingly obvious in the data from India and Nigeria. In the data from Indonesia, age heaping is also present, but to a lesser extent than for India and Nigeria. Lastly, the graph for Brazil is relatively smooth, indicating a near absence of age heaping.
Figure 1: Age distribution in survey data by single-year age group
Data source: Brazil PNAD 2006, India DHS 2005-06, Indonesia DHS 2007, Nigeria DHS 2008.
In Figure 2, single ages are combined in five-year age groups, from 0-4 years and 5-9 years to 90-94 years and 95 years and over. Compared to Figure 1, the distribution lines are much smoother, including for India and Nigeria. We can conclude that age heaping is problematic for education indicators that are calculated for single years, for example all children of primary school entrance age, but less so for indicators that are calculated for a larger age group, for example all children of primary or secondary school age or all persons over 15 years of age.
Figure 2: Age distribution in survey data by five-year age group
Data source: Brazil PNAD 2006, India DHS 2005-06, Indonesia DHS 2007, Nigeria DHS 2008.
Related articles
- Age distribution by wealth quintile in household survey data
- Educational attainment in Brazil since 1920
- School attendance in Brazil
- Educational attainment in India, 1950-2000
- Primary school completion in India, 1950-2000
- Age and level of education in Nigeria
- Adult literacy in Nigeria
- Youth literacy rates
- Adult literacy in 2007
- Official school ages: primary, secondary, and compulsory education
- Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS)
- Brazil National Household Sample Survey 2006
- Whipple's index entry in Wikipedia
- Education glossary by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics
- Net intake rate definition in UIS education glossary
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/02/age.html
31 January 2010
EFA Global Monitoring Report 2010
The Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2010 was released on 19 January 2010. The Global Monitoring Report is written annually by an independent team and published by UNESCO.The title of this year's report is Reaching the marginalized. UNESCO estimates that 72 million children of primary school age were out of school in 2007. The report examines who these children are and why they are excluded from education. The report further argues that there is a persistent financing gap that prevents countries from reaching the goal of education for all and that, based on current trends, 56 million children of primary school age will still be out of school in 2015.
The report introduces a new database on Deprivation and Marginalization in Education that was developed by the EFA Global Monitoring Report team and the Department of Economics at the University of Göttingen. The DME database introduces a measure of "education poverty", defined as the share of the population aged 17 to 22 years with less than 4 years or less than 2 years in school. Data are presented as global snapshots and in individual country profiles. All statistics were calculated with data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS).
Excerpt from Nigeria country overview in DME database
Source: Deprivation and Marginalization in Education database, country overviews.
Reference
- UNESCO. 2010. EFA Global Monitoring Report 2010: Reaching the marginalized. Paris: UNESCO. (Download in PDF format, 12 MB)
- EFA Global Monitoring Report 2010
- Deprivation and Marginalization in Education database
- Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS)
- Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS)
- EFA Global Monitoring Report 2011
- EFA Global Monitoring Report 2009
- EFA Global Monitoring Report 2008
- Global Education Digest 2009
- Release of 2008 education data by UIS
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2010/01/gmr.html