Last update: March 2007

Ensure that, by 2015, all children have access to and complete primary education that is free, compulsory and of good quality.

About primary education data

For a full picture of children’s school participation, UNICEF uses two sources: enrolment data, which are based on administrative records, and attendance data from household surveys. UNICEF’s analysis is therefore different from that of other organizations, including UNESCO, that base their analyses only on enrolment data. Half of all countries record data on primary education from more than one source. 

In most countries, enrolment rates are higher than attendance rates. This is also true of all regions except CEE/CIS and the Middle East and North Africa. In Eastern and Southern Africa, enrolment is as much as 13 per cent higher than attendance. Taking account of attendance as well as enrolment data inevitably means that the estimate of children out of school is higher, and that reported progress towards education goals is not as swift.

Primary-school-age children out of school refers to children of this age group who are not in primary or secondary school but who may be in preschool or in other schools outside the formal education system.

Source for figure: UNICEF global databases, 2007, including enrolment and attendance data for 95 countries, only enrolment data for 83 countries, and only attendance data for 13 countries (2000–2006); and UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Global Education Digest 2007.

Source: UNICEF global databases, 2007, including enrolment and attendance data for 95 countries, only enrolment data for 83 countries, and only attendance data for 13 countries (2000-2006); and UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Global Education Digest 2007. 

Definition of Indicators

Dropout rate by grade. Percentage of pupils or students who drop out from a given grade in a given school year. (EFA)

Gender Parity Index (GPI). Ratio of the female-to male values of a given indicator. A GPI of 1 indicates parity between sexes. (GED)

Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy, including distributive trades and transport, plus any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. (GED)

Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER). Number of pupils enrolled in a given level of education, regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the population in the theoretical age group for the same level of education.(GED)

Gross (Apparent) Intake Ratio (AIR). Total number of new entrants in the first grade of primary education, regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the population of theoretical entrance age to primary education. (GED)

Net Attendance Rate (NAR). The standard definition of the NAR is “Number of pupils in the official age group for a given level of education who attend school in that level, expressed as a percentage of the population in that age group.” (EFA) UNICEF uses a modified definition of the NAR that also considers children who are attending higher levels of education. The modified primary NAR is the percentage of children of primary school age that is attending primary or secondary school. The standard definition of the primary NAR would exclude children in secondary school and thus slightly underestimate the actual level of participation in the education system. The modified secondary NAR is the percentage of children of secondary school age that is attending secondary school or higher. The modified definitions of the primary and secondary NAR have been applied to generate the estimates in the 2006 and later editions of The State of the World’s Children.

Net Enrolment Ratio (NER). Number of pupils in the theoretical age group for a given level of education enrolled in that level expressed as a percentage of the total population in that age group. (GED)

Net Intake Rate (NIR). Number of new entrants in the first grade of primary education who are of the theoretical primary school-entrance age, expressed as a percentage of the population of the same age. (GED)

New entrants to primary education with ECCE experience. The number of new entrants to primary education who have attended some form of organized early childhood care and education (ECCE) programmes expressed as a percentage of the total number of new entrants to primary education. (GED)

Percentage of repeaters. Number of pupils who are enrolled in the same grade (or level) as the previous year, expressed as a percentage of the total enrolment in the given grade (or level) of education. (GED)

Percentage of trained teachers. Number of teachers who have received the minimum organized teacher-training (pre-service or in service) required for teaching at the relevant level of education in the given country, expressed as a percentage of the total number of teachers at the given level of education. (GED)

Primary completion rate. Percentage of students completing the last year of primary school. Calculated by taking the total number of students in the last grade of primary school, minus the number of repeaters in that grade, divided by the total number of children of official graduation age. (WDI) This indicator is published by UNESCO as the gross intake ratio to the last grade of primary: Total number of new entrants in the last grade of primary education, regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the population of the theoretical entrance age to the last grade. (GED)

Pupil/teacher ratio. Average number of pupils per teacher at the level of education specified in a given school year, based on headcounts for both pupils and teachers. (GED)

School life expectancy, approximation method. The sum of the age-specific enrolment rates for the levels specified. At the primary and secondary level, enrolment that is not distributed by age is divided by the school-age population and multiplied by the duration of the given level before being added to the sum of the age-specific enrolment rates. (GED)

Survival rates to grade n. Percentage of a cohort of pupils (or students) enrolled in the first grade of a given level or cycle of education in a given school year who are expected to reach a given grade (n). Survival rates are calculated on the basis of the reconstructed cohort method, which uses data on enrolment and repeaters for two consecutive years. (GED)

Total public expenditure on education as a % of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Current and capital expenditures on education by local, regional and national governments, including municipalities (household contributions are excluded), expressed as a percentage of the gross domestic product. (GED)

Total public expenditure on education as a % of total government expenditure. Current and capital expenditures on education by local, regional and national governments, including municipalities (household contributions are excluded) expressed as a percentage of total government expenditure on all sectors (including health, education, social services, etc.). (GED)

Transition rate to secondary education. Number of new entrants to the first grade of secondary education (general programmes only) in a given year, expressed as a percentage of the number of pupils enrolled in the final grade of primary education in the previous year. (GED)

References

EFA: UNESCO. 2004. Education for all: The quality imperative – EFA global monitoring report 2005. Paris: UNESCO.

GED: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). 2005. Global Education Digest 2005. Montreal: UIS.

WDI: World Bank. 2005. World Development Indicators 2005. Washington: World Bank.