Millions of girls around the world are still being denied an education
PRIMARY SCHOOL:
- There are still 31 million girls of primary school age out of school. Of these 17 million are expected never to enter school. There are 4 million fewer boys than girls out of school
- Three countries have over a million girls not in school: In Nigeria there are almost five and a half million, Pakistan, over three million, and in Ethiopia, over one million girls out of school.
LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL:
- There are also 34 million female adolescents out of school, missing out on the chance to learn vital skills for work.
SKILLS:
- Slow education progress for children today will have lifelong effects: Almost a quarter of young women aged 15-24 today (116 million) in developing countries have never completed primary school and so lack skills for work. Young women make up 58% of those not completing primary school.
LITERACY:
- Two-thirds of the 774 million illiterate people in the world are female.
Girls’ education has a huge impact on all of society
Educated women are less likely to die in childbirth:
If all mothers completed primary education, maternal deaths would be reduced by two-thirds, saving 98,000 lives In sub-Saharan Africa, if all women completed primary education, maternal deaths would be reduced by 70%, saving almost 50,000 lives.
Educating girls can save millions of lives:
If all women had a primary education, there would be 15% fewer child deaths.
If all women had a secondary education, child deaths would be cut in half, saving 3 million lives.
Mothers’ education improves child nutrition
If all women had a primary education, 1.7 million children would be saved from stunting from malnutrition.
If all women had a secondary education, 12 million children would be saved from stunting from malnutrition
Girls with higher levels of education are less likely to have children at an early age
10% fewer girls would become pregnant under 17 years in sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia if they all had a primary education. Almost 60% fewer girls would become pregnant under 17 years in sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia if they all had a secondary education.
Educating girls is a key factor in hastening the demographic transition to lower birth rates.
In sub-Saharan Africa, women with no education have 6.7 births, on average. The figure falls to 5.8 for those with primary education and more than halves, to 3.9, for those with secondary education.
Girls with higher levels of education are less likely to get married at an early age
If all girls had a primary education, there would be 14% fewer child marriages
If all girls had a secondary education, there would be two-thirds fewer child marriages
Education narrows pay gaps between men and women
In Pakistan, women with a primary education earn 51% what men earn. With a secondary education, they earn 70% what men earn
In Jordan, women with a primary education earn 53% what men earn. With a secondary education, they earn 67% what men earn
Educated women are more likely to find work:
In Brazil, only 37% of women with less than primary education are in work. This rises to 50% if they have a primary education, and 60% with a secondary education
Source: https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/sites/gem-report/files/girls-factsheet-en.pdf
AdviserEdu / Educating 