Summary

GENDER SUMMARY
EDUCATION FOR ALL GLOBAL MONITORING REPORT 2015
There
are more
countries
with
disparity at
the expense
of boys
in upper
secondary
education
in 1999 to almost 97 girls for every 100
boys in 2012, just below the threshold
for parity. This varies by region. South
and West Asia made the strongest
progress in secondary enrolment, from
75 girls enrolled for every 100 boys, the
lowest starting point, to 93, with rapid
progress at both the lower and upper
secondary levels (Figure 10a and b).
The Arab States made progress too,
as the number of girls enrolled for
every 100 boys increased from 87 in
1999 to 95 in 2012. In sub-Saharan
Africa, the average number of girls
enrolled relative to boys has only risen
slightly since 1999, to 84 for every 100
boys in 2012. In Latin America and
the Caribbean, 93 boys were enrolled
for every 100 girls in 2012, with little
change from 1999.
Overall, gender disparities are
narrowing. At the lower secondary
education level, the share of countries
at parity increased from 41% in 1999
to 42% in 2005 and 50% in 2012. At the
upper secondary education level, the
corresponding shares were 10%, 20%
and 29%. There are relatively more
countries with disparity at the expense
of girls in lower secondary education
and more countries with disparity
at the expense of boys in upper
secondary education.
Figure 10: While some regions have shown remarkable progress in reducing gender
disparity in secondary education, wide disparities remain
Gender parity index, by region, 1990–2012
a. Lower secondary education
Number of girls enrolled for every 100 boys,
lower secondary education
b. Upper secondary education
Number of girls enrolled for every 100 boys,
upper secondary education
120
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012
120
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012
Source: UIS database.
Latin America/Caribbean
East Asia/Pacific
Centr./East. Europe
N. America/W. Europe
South Asia
Central Asia
World
Arab States
Sub-Saharan Africa
Latin America/Caribbean
East Asia/Pacific
Arab States
N. America/W. Europe
Central Asia
World
Centr./East. Europe
South Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
Across both levels, of 133 countries
with data in both years, the number of
countries with fewer than 90 girls enrolled for every
100 boys fell from 30 in 1999 to 19 countries in 2012,
of which the majority were in the Arab States or
sub-Saharan Africa. The number of countries where
fewer than 90 boys enrolled for every 100 girls fell
from 18 to 9 over the period (Figure 11).
The most extreme cases of disparity in secondary
education enrolment are still at the expense of girls.
In 2012, despite progress since 1999, 13 countries
had fewer than 80 girls enrolled for every 100 boys.
In Angola, the gender gap increased from 76 girls
per 100 boys in 1999 to 65 in 2012. In the Central
African Republic and Chad, both affected by conflict,
approximately half as many girls as boys were
enrolled in secondary school in 2012.
Changes in the pattern of boys’ enrolment in
secondary education have varied since 1999. In
a number of middle and high income countries
with overall high levels of secondary enrolment,
persistent gender gaps at the expense of boys had
closed in all Western European countries except
Finland and Luxembourg by 2012. In Mongolia
and South Africa, strong progress in reducing
disparities saw both countries near to achieving
gender parity in 2012. However, in some richer
countries such as Argentina, Suriname and several
Caribbean countries, gender gaps in secondary
enrolment have widened. In a few poorer countries,
including Bangladesh, Myanmar and Rwanda,
they have emerged. In Lesotho, only 71 boys
were enrolled for every 100 girls in 2012, a ratio
unchanged since 1999.
16