With school back in session, Daily Relation timess looks at the state of global education.
Millions of children returned to school this week as summer holidays concluded in many parts of the northern hemisphere.
However, it is estimated that 244 million children between the ages of six and 18 worldwide are still out of school
Education is a key driver for social and economic development. According to the World Bank, each additional year of schooling is associated with a nine percent rise in hourly earnings.
Global education levels
Just under 10 percent of the world’s population above the age of 15 has no formal edu
education, meaning they did not enter or complete the first grade, according to data compiled by the Wittgenstein Centre.
About 10 percent of people have completed primary education – which runs from nursery to 11 or 12 years old – with an additional five percent having incomplete primary school education.
Nearly 40 percent of the world’s population has been educated to either lower or upper secondary education, which usually runs from the ages of 11 or 12 through to 18 or 19 years old.
The remaining 12 percent of the world’s population has attained an education past the secondary stage, this is compared with just one percent in 1950. Individuals with higher levels of education tend to enjoy better overall health and wellbeing.
Which countries have the longest schooling?
A child spends 12.8 years on average at school or university, according to the United Nations Development Programme. This includes primary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary and tertiary education as well as years spent on repetition.
With 21.1 years of expected schooling, Australians spend the longest time in the education system, followed by New Zealand (20.3 years) and Greece (20 years).