INDUSTRIES & MARKETS

Education worldwide
 Table of Contents

01 Overview 04 Higher education

Educational attainment worldwide 2020, by gender and level 04 Number of universities worldwide in 2023, by country 23
Share of OECD population with primary education as highest education level 2021 05 World university rankings by Times Higher Education 2023/2024 24
Share of population in OECD countries with secondary education 2022 06 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) 2023 25
Share of people with tertiary education in OECD countries 2022, by country 07 World university rankings by reputation score, by Times Higher Education 2022 26
Education Index - comparison of selected countries 2021 08 Top host destination of international students worldwide 2022 27
Share of population not in education or employment globally2023, by gender and region 09 International student share of higher-ed population worldwide in 2022, by country 28
Pre-education participation rate worldwide 2022, by region 10 Field of study of international students worldwide 2022, by country 29

02 Primary education 05 Literacy rates

Number of pupils in primary education worldwide 2000-2020 12 Global adult literacy rate 2000-2022, by gender 31
Net enrollment rate in primary school worldwide 2000-2018 13 Global youth literacy rate 2000-2022, by gender 32
Lower secondary education net enrollment rate globally 2020, by country development 14 Global youth literacy rate as gender parity index 2009-2020 33
Primary school completion rate worldwide 2000-2020 15 Illiteracy rates by world region 2022 34

03 Secondary education 06 Impact of COVID-19

Number of pupils in secondary education worldwide 2000-2020 17 Number of countries with closed schools worldwide 2021, by status 36
Net enrollment rate in secondary school worldwide 2000-2018 18 Number of students in countries with closed schools worldwide 2021, by status 37
Secondary school net enrollment rate globally 2020, by level and country development 19 Students and teachers affected by the coronavirus pandemic worldwide 2020 38
Lower secondary completion rate worldwide 2000-2019 20 Number of students at risk of not returning to education institutions worldwide 2020 39
Sex ratio in secondary education worldwide 2000-2020, by gender 21 Share of students at risk of not returning to education institutions worldwide 2020 40

1
 Table of Contents

Number of students at risk of not returning to school worldwide 2020, by region 41

Number of students at risk of not returning to education institutions worldwide 2020 42

2
CHAPTER 01

Overview
 Educational attainment worldwide in 2020, by gender and level
Educational attainment worldwide 2020, by gender and level

Female Male

100%
91%
90% 88%

80%

70% 66% 66%

Net enrollment rate

60%

50%
41%
40% 36%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Primary Secondary Tertiary*

4 Description: According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2020, 88 percent of females worldwide had primary education, compared to 91 percent of males. By comparison, more females than males had attained tertiary education.The Global Gender Index
benchmarks national gender gaps on economic, political, education, and health-based criteria. In 2020, the leading country was Iceland with a score of 0.87. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2020; Net enrollment rate; *Gross enrollment rate The Global Gender Gap Index, is a framework for capturing the magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress. The Index benchmarks national [...] Read more
Source(s): World Economic Forum
 Share of population in OECD countries with primary or lower secondary education
as highest education level in 2021, by country
Share of OECD population with primary education as highest education level 2021

Share of people
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Australia 15.5%

Austria 14.1%

Belgium 18.5%

Canada 6.9%

Chile** 28%

Colombia 39.8%

Costa Rica 57.4%

Czech Republic 5.6%

Denmark 17.9%

Estonia 10.5%

Finland 11.1%

France 17.8%

Germany 14.7%

Greece 21.8%

Hungary 13.7%

5 Description: About 57 percent of the population in Costa Rica and Mexico had obtained an education level below upper secondary education as their highest education level in 2021. Turkey followed closely with 55 percent of the population having achieved a
maximum education equivalent to lower secondary or primary education. Lower secondary education completes provision of basic education, and is usually followed by upper secondary education. In 2020, over 22 percent of Mexicans had [...] Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2021 or latest available; 25-64 years; as a share in the same age group; *Refers to the Republic of Türkiye. **Numbers from 2020. Read more
Source(s): OECD
 Share of population in OECD countries with upper secondary education as highest
education level in 2022
Share of population in OECD countries with secondary education 2022

Share of people
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Czech Republic 67.78%

Slovak Republic 64.28%

Poland 59.55%

Hungary 57.61%

Germany 51.02%

Slovenia 50.93%

Austria 50.39%

Latvia 49.71%

Estonia 47.72%

Finland 46.47%

Lithuania 46.39%

Greece 45.17%

Italy 42.72%

United States 41.82%

France 41.66%

6 Description: Nearly 70 percent of the population in the Czech Republic had upper secondary education as their highest education level in 2022, the highest of OECD member countries. Neighboring Slovakia had the second highest share at nearly two thirds of the
population between 25 and 64 years. Meanwhile, the share was lowest in Costa Rica, where only 20 percent of the population had achieved an upper secondary education. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2022 or latest available; 25-64 years; as a share in the same age group; *data from 2020. Read more
Source(s): OECD
 Share of people with tertiary education in OECD and affiliated countries in 2022, by
country
Share of people with tertiary education in OECD countries 2022, by country

Share of people
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Canada 62.74%

Japan 56.13%

Ireland 54.39%

Korea 52.8%

Australia 51.5%

Luxembourg 51.49%

United Kingdom 51.32%

Israel 50.62%

United States 50.02%

Sweden 48.53%

Norway 48.1%

Lithuania 46.53%

Belgium 45.77%

Switzerland 44.7%

Netherlands 44.66%

7 Description: Among the OECD countries, Canada had the highest proportion of adults with a tertiary education in 2022. About 63 percent of Canadians had achieved a tertiary education in that year. Japan followed with about 56 percent of the population having
completed a tertiary education, while in Ireland the share was roughly 54 percent. In India, on the other hand, less than 13 percent of the adult population had completed a tertiary education in 2022. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide, OECD; 2022; 25-64 years; as a share in the same age group; *data from 2021. Read more
Source(s): OECD
 Education index including inequality* of selected countries in 2021 (in parts per
1,000)
Education Index - comparison of selected countries 2021

Education Index (achieved value of 1,000)

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1,000
Iceland 938

Germany 917

New Zealand 914

Norway 912

Denmark 909

Finland 907

Switzerland 902

United Kingdom 901

Slovenia 898

Australia 896

Canada 893

Sweden 885

United States 883

Estonia 876

Netherlands 875

8 Description: According to the Human Development Report 2021/22, the inequality adjusted education index score for Iceland amounted to 938 out of 1,000 in 2021 (equivalent to 0.938 of 1 in the source). Germany followed with an index score of 917. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide
Source(s): UNDP
 Share of population not in education, training, or employment worldwide in 2023,
by gender and region
Share of population not in education or employment globally2023, by gender and region

Female Male

50% 45.5%
41.4%
40% 33.9% 31.7%
28.4% 28.5%
30% 24.4%
Percentage not in education, training, or

22.5%
19.2% 16.4% 17.9%
20% 14.2% 13.3% 15.6%
9.6% 9.3% 11.9% 11.1%
10%
0%
employment

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9 Description: In each region of the world, more women are not in education, training, or employment than men. On average, 31 percent of women globally are not in education, training, or employment while only 15 percent of men globally are not in education,
training, or employment. The biggest gap lies within Central Asia and Southern Asia, where 45.5 percent of women but only 14 percent of men are not in education, training, or employment. Australia and New Zealand have the smallest gap, with [...] Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2023; 15-24 years
Source(s): ILO; UN Women; UNDP
 Participation rate in organized learning (one year before official primary entry age)
worldwide in 2022, by region
Pre-education participation rate worldwide 2022, by region

100%
90.58% 89.73%
90% 83.47% 84.29%
78.62%
80% 72.4%
70% 63.14%
60%
46.38% 47.38%
50%
40%
Participation rate

30%
20%
10%
0%

10 Description: 72 percent of children worldwide were enrolled in pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education in 2022. In Europe and North America as well as Latin America and the Caribbean, around 90 percent of children were receiving
some kind of pre-primary school education that year. By comparison, this was the case for less than 50 percent of children in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North Africa. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2022; *Numbers from 2021. Read more
Source(s): UNESCO Institute for Statistics
CHAPTER 02

Primary education
 Number of pupils in primary education worldwide from 2000 to 2020 (in millions)
Number of pupils in primary education worldwide 2000-2020

760

740
Number of pupils in millions

720

700

680

660

640
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

12 Description: The number of pupils in primary education worldwide increased over the past years. While around 650 million children were enrolled in primary school in 2000, the number reached nearly 740 million pupils in 2020. The highest number of pupils,
however, were registered in 2018, peaking at 742 million. During the same time period, more and more pupils completed primary education, standing at nearly 90 percent in 2019. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2000 to 2020
Source(s): UNESCO Institute for Statistics; World Bank
 Net enrollment rate in primary school worldwide from 2000 to 2018
Net enrollment rate in primary school worldwide 2000-2018

90.5%

89.5%

88.5%
Net enrollment rate

87.5%

86.5%

85.5%

84.5%

83.5%

82.5%
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

13 Description: 89.4 percent of children in primary school age were enrolled in primary schools worldwide in 2018. That was an increase of about five percent when compared to the figures from 2000. The highest primary school net enrollment rate was measured in
2016 when 89.42 percent of children worldwide were enrolled in primary education. In 2018, the net enrollment rate in secondary school worldwide was 66.27 percent. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2000 to 2018
Source(s): UNESCO Institute for Statistics; World Bank
 Net enrollment rate in primary school worldwide in 2020, by country development
status
Lower secondary education net enrollment rate globally 2020, by country development

120%

99%
100%
90% 91%
83%
80%
Net enrollment rate

60%

40%

20%

0%
More developed regions Less developed regions Least developed regions World average

14 Description: 99 percent of boys and girls from more developed countries were enrolled in primary education worldwide as of 2020. That was a significantly larger proportion of pupils compared to less developed countries. In the world's least developed countries,
83 percent of primary school aged girls and boys were enrolled in school in 2020. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2020; adjusted net enrollment rate
Source(s): UNFPA
 Primary school completion rate worldwide from 2000 to 2020
Primary school completion rate worldwide 2000-2020

91.0%

90.0%

89.0%

88.0%

87.0%
Completion rate

86.0%

85.0%

84.0%

83.0%

82.0%

81.0%
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

15 Description: The completion rate of primary schools worldwide stood at around 90 percent in 2020. The completion rate increased over the past two decades as only about 82 percent of children in lower secondary age finished school in 2000. By comparison, the
completion rate of lower secondary school was around 76 percent in 2019. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2000 to 2020; as a percentage of relevant age group
Source(s): UNESCO Institute for Statistics; World Bank
CHAPTER 03

Secondary education
 Number of pupils in secondary education worldwide from 2000 to 2020 (in
millions)
Number of pupils in secondary education worldwide 2000-2020

650

600
Number of pupils in millions

550

500

450

400
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

17 Description: The number of pupils in secondary education worldwide increased almost constantly since 2000. While around 452 million children were enrolled in secondary school in 2000, the number reached about 614 million pupils in 2020. At the same time,
the completion rate of lower secondary education also increased, reaching over 76 percent in 2019. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2000 to 2020
Source(s): UNESCO Institute for Statistics; World Bank
 Net enrollment rate in secondary school worldwide from 2000 to 2018
Net enrollment rate in secondary school worldwide 2000-2018

68%

66%

64%

62%
Net enrollment rate

60%

58%

56%

54%

52%

50%
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

18 Description: Around 66.27 % of children in secondary school age were enrolled in secondary schools worldwide in 2018. That was the highest proportion of children in secondary school ever measured and an increase of over 10 percent when compared to the
figure from 2000. In 2018, the net enrollment rate in primary school worldwide was 89.4 percent. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2000 to 2018
Source(s): UNESCO Institute for Statistics; World Bank
 Net enrollment rate in secondary education worldwide in 2020, by level and
country development status
Secondary school net enrollment rate globally 2020, by level and country development

Upper Lower

120%

98%
100% 95%

82% 84%
80%
Net enrollment rate

66% 66%
63%
60%

44%
40%

20%

0%
More developed regions Less developed regions Least developed regions World average

19 Description: Around 95 percent of boys and girls from more developed countries were enrolled in upper secondary education worldwide as of 2020. That was a significantly larger proportion of pupils compared to less developed countries. In the world's least
developed countries, 44 percent of secondary school aged girls and boys were enrolled in school in 2020. For lower secondary education the percentages of enrollment were even higher. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2020
Source(s): UNFPA
 Lower secondary completion rate worldwide from 2000 to 2019
Lower secondary completion rate worldwide 2000-2019

78%

76%

74%

72%
Completion rate

70%

68%

66%

64%

62%

60%
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

20 Description: The completion rate of lower secondary schools worldwide stood at around 76 percent in 2019. The completion rate increased over the past two decades as only about 63 percent of children in lower secondary age finished school in 2000. By
comparison, the completion rate for children in primary school stood at about 90 percent in 2020. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2000 to 2019; as a percentage of relevant age group
Source(s): UNESCO Institute for Statistics; World Bank
 Sex ratio among those enrolled in secondary education worldwide from 2000 to
2020, gender parity index*
Sex ratio in secondary education worldwide 2000-2020, by gender

1.2

0.97 0.97 0.97 0.97 0.99 0.99 0.99 0.99 0.99 0.99 0.99 0.99
1.0 0.94 0.94 0.95 0.95 0.96 0.96
0.92 0.92 0.93

0.8
Girls to boys ratio

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

21 Description: Worldwide, the enrollment ratio of girls to boys in secondary education slowly increased from 2000 to 2020. The ratio reached 0.99 in 2020. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; *Ratio of girls to boys enrolled in public and private schools. Read more
Source(s): UNESCO Institute for Statistics; World Bank
CHAPTER 04

Higher education
 Estimated number of universities worldwide as of July 2023, by country
Number of universities worldwide in 2023, by country

Number of universities
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000
India 5,349

Indonesia 3,277

United States of America 3,180

China 2,495

Brazil 1,264

Mexico 1,139

Russian Federation 1,010

Japan 992

France 625

Germany 461

Iran 440

Poland 408

South Korea 401

Canada 383

Philippines 366

23 Description: India has the most universities worldwide. According to data from July 2023, there were an estimated 5,350 universities in India. Indonesia had the second most universities, counting 3,300, followed by the United States with 3,200 universities.
Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; July 2023
Source(s): CSIC (Cybermetrics Lab - "Webometrics Ranking of World Universities")
 World university rankings for 2023/24, according to Times Higher Education
World university rankings by Times Higher Education 2023/2024

Times Higher Education Score

0 20 40 60 80 100 120
University of Oxford (United Kingdom) 98.5

Stanford University (United States) 98

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (United States) 97.9

Harvard University (United States) 97.8

University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) 97.5

Princeton University (United States) 96.9

California Institute of Technology (United States) 96.5

Imperial College London (United Kingdom) 95.1

University of California, Berkeley (United States) 94.6

Yale University (United States) 94.2

ETH Zurich (Switzerland) 93.1

Tsinghua University (China) 92.4

University of Chicago (United States) 92.1

Peking University (China) 91.8

Johns Hopkins University (United States) 91.1

24 Description: For the academic year of 2023/2024, the University of Oxford was ranked as the best university in the world, with an overall score of 98.5 according the Times Higher Education. Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
followed behind. A high number of the leading universities in the world are located in the United States, with the ETH Zürich in Switzerland the highest ranked neither in the United Kingdom nor the U.S. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; Autumn 2023; 1,799 universities in 104 countries
Source(s): Elsevier; Times Higher Education
 The 2023 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) by Shanghai Ranking
Consultancy
Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) 2023

Shanghai Ranking Score

0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Harvard University 100

Stanford University 74.8

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 69.1

University of Cambridge 67.9

University of California, Berkeley 63.4

Princeton University 60.1

University of Oxford 59.5

Columbia University 55.3

California Institute of Technology 54.5

University of Chicago 53.8

Yale University 52.2

Cornell University 50.5

University of California, Los Angeles 48

University of Pennsylvania 47.7

Paris-Saclay University 47

25 Description: Harvard University was the top-ranked university in the world in 2023 with a score of 100 according to the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy group. Out of the top 30 ranked universities, the United States had 20 different universities on the list.
Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2023
Source(s): Academic Ranking of World Universities
 Times Higher Education ranking of the best universities worldwide in 2022, by
reputation score
World university rankings by reputation score, by Times Higher Education 2022

Reputation score
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Harvard University (US) 100

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US) 94.2

Stanford University (US) 82.7

University of Oxford (UK) 82.4

University of Cambridge (UK) 80.1

University of California, Berkeley (US) 62.5

Princeton University (US) 39.2

Yale University (US) 33.5

Tsinghua University (China) 32.2

University of Tokyo (Japan) 30.1

California Institute of Technology (US) 29.3

ETH Zurich (Switzerland) 27.7

Peking University (China) 27.4

Imperial College London (UK) 24.1

Columbia University (US) 23.6

26 Description: In 2021, Harvard University was placed first as the university with the highest reputation score worldwide at 100. Second on the Times Higher Education world university ranking was Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a reputation score
of 94.2, followed by the Stanford University. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; November 2021 to February 2022; 29,606 respondents in 159 countries; 18 years and older; individual academics
Source(s): Times Higher Education
 Top host destination of international students worldwide in 2022, by number of
students
Top host destination of international students worldwide 2022

Number of students
0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000 700,000 800,000 900,000 1,000,000
United States 948,519

United Kingdom 633,910

Canada 552,580

France 364,756

Australia 363,859

Russia 351,127

Germany 324,729

China* 221,653

Japan 201,877

Italy 125,470

Netherlands 115,068

Argentina 108,180

Spain 91,558

Poland 84,689

Mexico 51,659

27 Description: The United States was the top host destination for international students worldwide. In 2022, around 950,000 students were enrolled in higher education in the U.S.. Furthermore, more than 630,000 and 550,000 international students enrolled in the
United Kingdom and Canada, respectively. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2022; *Data from UNESCO. Read more
Source(s): Institute of International Education; UNESCO
 Countries with the largest amount of international students as a share of the total
higher education population in 2022
International student share of higher-ed population worldwide in 2022, by country

Share of total higher education population

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Canada 29%

Australia 25%

United Kingdom 23%

France 13%

Germany 11%

Denmark 10%

New Zealand 10%

Russia 9%

Norway 7%

Poland 7%

Italy 7%

Japan 6%

Spain 6%

United States 5%

Argentina 4%

28 Description: In 2022, Canada had the greatest amount of international students compared to their entire higher education population with nearly 30 percent of students being international. Australia followed with a share of 25 percent of the students being
international, while the United Kingdom ranked third. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2022
Source(s): Institute of International Education
 Field of study of international students worldwide in 2022, by country
Field of study of international students worldwide 2022, by country

Share of international students

STEM Business & management Others

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Argentina 59% 14% 27%
42% 35% 23%
Chile 45% 32% 22%
58% 14% 27%
Israel 34% 6% 59%
38% 15% 48%
Japan 27% 27% 45%
36% 33% 40%
Philippines 74% 8% 18%
27% 28% 44%
Russia 55% 17% 28%
36% 28% 36%
United States 54% 16% 30%

29 Description: In many of the countries with a large number of international students, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) was the most popular field of study, with more than half of the students studying this in Germany, Russia, and the
United Kingdom, and even about three fourths of students in the Philippines. In Israel, nearly 60 percent of the international students studied other subjects than STEM and business and management. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2022; 6,4 million int. students
Source(s): Institute of International Education
CHAPTER 05

Literacy rates
 Global adult literacy rate from 2000 to 2022, by gender
Global adult literacy rate 2000-2022, by gender

Men Women

95%

90%

85%
Literacy rate

80%

75%

70%
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

31 Description: There is a gender gap in the global literacy rate. Although literacy rates have generally increased worldwide for both men and women, men are on average more literate than women. As of 2022, about 90 percent of men and a little less than 84 percent
of women in the world were literate. Adult literacy rate is defined as the percentage of people aged 15 years and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2000 to 2022; 15 years and older
Source(s): World Bank
 Global youth literacy rate from 2000 to 2022, by gender
Global youth literacy rate 2000-2022, by gender

Men Women

96%

94%

92%

90%
Literacy rate

88%

86%

84%

82%

80%
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

32 Description: There is a gender gap in the literacy rate among the youth worldwide. Although the literacy rates have increased worldwide for both young men and women between 15 and 24 years, men are on average more literate than women. As of 2022, nearly
94 percent of young men and roughly 91.5 percent of women in the world were literate. A similar picture was seen for the adult population worldwide. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 15-24 years
Source(s): World Bank
 Global youth literacy rate as gender parity index (GPI) from 2009 to 2020
Global youth literacy rate as gender parity index 2009-2020

1.0%
Literacy rate as gender parity index

1.0%

0.9%
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

33 Description: Gender parity index for youth literacy rate is the ratio of females to males aged 15 to 24 who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life. In 2020, the global youth literacy rate as gender parity index
amounted to 0.98, which was an increase of around 0.3 compared to 10 years ago. On average, males are more literate than females worldwide, both among the youth and adult population. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 15-24 years
Source(s): World Bank
 The illiteracy rate among all adults (over 15-year-old) in 2022, by world region
Illiteracy rates by world region 2022

35%
32.28%

30%
25.81%
The illiteracy rate among all adults

25%

19.64%
20%

15%

10%

5.4%
5% 3.96%
1.56% 1.36%
0%
Sub-Saharan Africa South Asia Middle East and Latin America and East Asia and the Europe and Central North America
North Africa the Caribbean Pacific* Asia

34 Description: In 2022, the illiteracy rate among adults aged 15 years and older was 32 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa. In South Asia the illiteracy rate was 26 percent. Adult illiteracy rate is defined as the percentage of the population aged 15 and older who can not
read or write. Even though illiteracy continues to persist around the world, illiteracy levels have been reduced significantly over the past decades. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2022; 15 years and older; *Data from 2021. Read more
Source(s): World Bank
CHAPTER 06

Impact of COVID-19
 Number of countries with closed schools worldwide in 2021, by status
Number of countries with closed schools worldwide 2021, by status

100 95

90

80

70

57
Number of schools

60

50

40

30 26

20
10
10 7 6

0
Open with limitations Closed Open Seasonal school No information Closed (in select areas)
closures available

36 Description: As of March 2021, schools were closed in 57 countries worldwide. In 95 countries schools remained open with limitations, while only 26 countries across the globe kept their schools open. Altogether, roughly 682 million students worldwide resided in
countries where schools were fully closed. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2021
Source(s): World Bank
 Number of students in countries with closed schools worldwide in 2021, by status
(in millions)
Number of students in countries with closed schools worldwide 2021, by status

800

700 681.71

600
Number of students in millions

500

400

300

200

92.48
100

0
Fully closed Partially closed

37 Description: As of March 2021, nearly 682 million students all across the globe lived in countries with closed schools due to the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Furthermore, schools were partially open for around 92 millions students worldwide. In 57
countries schools were closed during that same, while in 95 countries schools remained open with limitations. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2021
Source(s): World Bank
 Students and teachers affected by the coronavirus pandemic worldwide in 2020 (in
billions)
Students and teachers affected by the coronavirus pandemic worldwide 2020

1.6
1.5

1.4
Number of students and teachers in billions

1.2

1.0

0.8
0.63
0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0
Students Teachers

38 Description: According to data from September 2020, 1.5 million students all over the world were affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Not only has education been disrupted for the student population, also 630 million primary and secondary school teachers
were affected by COVID-19. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2020; primary and secondary teachers
Source(s): UNESCO
 Estimated number of students at risk of not returning to education institutions
worldwide as of 2020, by education level (in millions)
Number of students at risk of not returning to education institutions worldwide 2020

25 23.8

20
Number of students in millions

15

10
7.9

5
5 4.4 4.4

2.1

0
Pre-primary Primary Lower secondary Upper secondary Tertiary Total

39 Description: According to the source, it is estimated that about 23.8 million students worldwide are at risk of not returning to education institutions as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. The data from July 2020 forecasts that tertiary education students
will be the most affected, with around 7.9 million students perhaps not going back to school. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2020
Source(s): UNESCO
 Estimated share of students at risk of not returning to education institutions
worldwide as of 2020, by education level (in millions)
Share of students at risk of not returning to education institutions worldwide 2020

4.0%

3.47%
3.5%

3.0% 2.79%

2.5%
Share of students

2.0%
1.72%

1.5% 1.31% 1.36%

1.0%

0.5%
0.27%

0.0%
Pre-primary Primary Lower secondary Upper secondary Tertiary Total

40 Description: According to the source, it is estimated that about 1.4 percent of all students worldwide are at risk of not returning to education institutions as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. The data from July 2020 forecasts that tertiary education
students will be the most affected, with around 3.5 percent perhaps not returning to school. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2020
Source(s): UNESCO
 Estimated number of students at risk of not returning to education institutions
worldwide as of 2020, by region (in millions)
Number of students at risk of not returning to school worldwide 2020, by region

Number of students in millions

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

South and West Asia 5.95

Sub-Saharan Africa 5.33

East Asia and Pacific 4.5

Latin America and the Caribbean 3.13

North America and Western Europe 2.33

Arab States 1.31

Central and Eastern Europe 0.97

Central Asia 0.26

41 Description: According to the source, it is estimated that about 23.8 million students worldwide are at risk of not returning to education institutions as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. The data from July 2020 forecasts that students living in South and
West Asia will be the most affected, with nearly six million students perhaps not returning to school. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2020
Source(s): UNESCO
 Estimated number of students at risk of not returning to education institutions
worldwide as of 2020, by gender (in millions)
Number of students at risk of not returning to education institutions worldwide 2020

Female Male

14
12.5
12 11.3
Number of students in millions

10

4.2
4 3.6

2.4 2.6
2.1 2.3 2.1 2.3
2
0.98 1.1

0
Pre-primary Primary Lower secondary Upper secondary Tertiary Total

42 Description: According to the source, it is estimated that about 23.8 million students worldwide are at risk of not returning to education institutions as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. The data from July 2020 forecasts that 12.5 million male and 11.3
million female students will not be returning to school. Read more
Note(s): Worldwide; 2020
Source(s): UNESCO
 Sources

Academic Ranking of World Universities

CSIC (Cybermetrics Lab - "Webometrics Ranking of World Universities")
Elsevier
ILO
Institute of International Education
OECD
Times Higher Education
UN Women
UNDP
UNESCO
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
UNFPA
World Bank
World Economic Forum

43