UNESCO releases data from 2007 education survey

The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) has released the data from its latest survey of international education indicators, conducted in 2007. The UIS Data Centre offers annual data for 208 countries and territories from the years 1999 to 2007. The previous survey had data for 207 countries and territories but starting in 2008, Serbia and Montenegro are listed separately, after both countries had declared their independence in 2006.

The graph below presents the distribution of the latest UIS data for two official Millennium Development Goal indicators, the primary school net enrollment rate (NER) and the survival rate to the last grade of primary school.

The primary NER is available for 178 countries. In 121 countries, the latest data is from 2006. For 10 countries - Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Marshall Islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sao Tome and Principe, Serbia, South Korea, and Vanuatu - the primary NER in 2007 is available.

The survival rate to the last grade of primary school is available for 157 countries. To calculate this indicator, data from two consecutive years is needed. For this reason, the latest available data for 88 of the 157 countries is from 2005. For 6 countries - Egypt, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Sao Tome and Principe, South Korea, and Tanzania - the survival rate for 2006 is provided in the UIS database.

Distribution of latest national data from UIS education survey 2007

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Data Centre, May 2008

Related articles

• UNESCO releases data from 2006 education survey
• Final release of data from UNESCO's 2005 education survey
• Pupil/teacher ratio in primary school
• Global Education Digest 2007
• Global Education Digest 2006
• Global Education Digest 2005

External links

• UIS announcement of data from 2007 education survey
• UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
• UIS Data Centre
• UN Millennium Development Goals

Friedrich Huebler, 18 May 2008 (edited 26 October 2008), Creative Commons License
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2008/05/uis.html

Adult literacy in sub-Saharan Africa

Literacy data published by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) in 2007 shows that the lowest adult literacy rates are observed in Africa and South Asia. In some countries, fewer than three out of ten adults can read and write. UIS provides national literacy data for two age groups: youths aged 15 to 24 years, and adults aged 15 years and older. A more detailed analysis of literacy is possible with data from household surveys.

Most Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) collect data on literacy for persons between 15 and 49 years. For male household members, literacy data is sometimes collected up to an age of 54, 59, or 64 years. To assess the degree of literacy, respondents to the survey are asked to read a card with a simple sentence. If a respondent can read the whole sentence, he or she is counted as literate, in accordance with UNESCO's definition of literacy as "the ability to read and write, with understanding, a short simple sentence about one’s everyday life". Recent Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) by UNICEF collect data on literacy with the same method, but only for female household members between 15 and 49 years. MICS surveys are therefore not covered by the analysis that follows.

This article examines data from eight DHS surveys that were carried out in sub-Saharan Africa between 2003 and 2006. The survey data is from Benin (2006), Burkina Faso (2003), Cameroon (2004), Lesotho (2004-05), Niger (2006), Nigeria (2003), Uganda (2006), and Zimbabwe (2005-06). The data can be used to calculate overall literacy rates and also to examine trends over time by comparing literacy rates in different age groups.

The following table lists literacy rates for the male, female, and total population between 15 and 49 years of age. Zimbabwe (85%) and Lesotho (79%) are the countries with the highest literacy rates, followed by Cameroon (63%), Uganda (58%), and Nigeria (55%). In Benin (33%), Burkina Faso (18%), and Niger (13%), adult literacy rates are much lower. In seven of the eight countries there is a large difference between male and female literacy rates. In Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria, and Uganda, more men than women are literate, with a gender gap ranging from 12% to 26%. In Lesotho, the literacy rate of women is 21% greater than the literacy rate of men. In Zimbabwe, the difference between the male and female literacy rate is only 6%.

Adult literacy rate (%), population 15-49 years

Country	Male	Female	Total
Benin	45.1	21.8	32.6
Burkina Faso	24.3	11.9	17.6
Cameroon	70.6	54.8	62.5
Lesotho	68.8	90.1	79.4
Niger	20.9	7.5	13.2
Nigeria	68.4	42.8	54.9
Uganda	68.6	48.9	58.4
Zimbabwe	87.9	81.5	84.5

Source: Demographic and Health Surveys 2003-2006

For the graph below, the survey respondents were divided into five-year age groups. In all countries, literacy rates among the younger population are higher than among the older population. The literacy rate of the youngest group, 15 to 19 years, can be interpreted as a measure of the coverage and quality of the primary school system during the 1990s, when the members of this age group were of primary school age.

In Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Lesotho, Niger, and Uganda, the difference between the literacy rates of 15- to 19-year-olds and 45- to 49-year-olds ranges from 13% to 18%. These numbers indicate a relatively modest expansion of the education system between the 1960s, when the older age group was of primary school age, and the 1990s. In contrast, in Benin, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe, the difference between the literacy rates of 15- to 19-year-olds and 45- to 49-year-olds ranges from 27% to 32%. These three countries were thus more successful in their efforts to increase the number of literate citizens than the other five countries.

In Burkina Faso and Niger, less than one quarter of the population between 15 and 19 years can read and write. However, the case of Benin shows that a large increase in literacy can be achieved within only ten years. In Benin, only 24% of 25- to 29-year-olds are literate but among 15- to 19-years-olds the literacy rate has grown to 53%.

Adult literacy by five-year age group

Source: Demographic and Health Surveys 2003-2006

Related articles

• Educational attainment in sub-Saharan Africa
• Adult literacy rates
• Youth literacy rates
• Disparity between adult and youth literacy
• Disparity between male and female literacy rates
• Years of schooling and literacy: Can everyone with primary education read and write?
• Years of schooling and literacy, part 2
• Adult literacy in Nigeria
• Self-reported and tested literacy in Nigeria

External links

• Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS)
• Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS)
• UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)

Friedrich Huebler, 10 May 2008, Creative Commons License
Permanent URL: http://huebler.blogspot.com/2008/05/literacy.html