United Nations

Educational, Scientic and

Cultural Organization

EDUCATION
COUNTS
Towards the
Millennium
Development
Goals
The original artwork presented in the brochure was designed by
Zago, New York, and presented in an exhibition “Education Counts”
held in UN Headquarters in NY during September-November 2010.

First published in 2010 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization
7, place de Fontenoy
75352 Paris 07 SP, France

© UNESCO 2011
New updated edition
All rights reserved

Layout: Baseline Arts Ltd, Oxford

Printed by UNESCO

Printed in France

ED-2010/WS/44/REV.2 (3752.11)
ABOUT
EDUCATION
FOR ALL
The Education for All EFA movement is a global
commitment to provide quality education for all
children, youth and adults. It aims to achieve six
key education goals by 2015, which relate to: early
childhood care, primary education, youth and adult
learning, literacy, gender equality and education
quality.

The EFA Global Monitoring Report is an independent

annual report published by UNESCO. It is the leading
reference for assessing global progress towards the
EFA goals, which also cover Millennium Development
Goals 2 (universal primary education) and 3 (gender
parity in primary education). The Report tracks
progress, identifies best practice, draws attention to
challenges and promotes cooperation in favour of
education.

Unless otherwise stated, the data presented are taken from the EFA Global
Monitoring Report. Some numbers have been rounded. All currency symbols
($) refer to US dollars.
FOREWORD
One figure can tell a whole story.

The figures in this brochure are a compelling illustration of

education’s direct impact on human well-being, from better health to
increased wealth.

The equation is simple: education is the most basic insurance against

poverty. Education represents opportunity. At all ages, it empowers
people with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to shape
a better future.

This brochure is born out of an exhibition presented at the Millennium

Development Goals summit held in New York in September 2010
which highlighted the central role of education in achieving the goals
and sustaining their gains.

As the UN agency leading the Education for All movement, UNESCO

is determined to make education count for everyone, everywhere.
The facts in this brochure speak for themselves: societies that
make education their top development priority are more resilient,
prosperous, just and peaceful.

Irina Bokova
Director-General, UNESCO
INTRODUCTION
Considerable progress has been made since the world’s leaders
committed to achieving Education for All by 2015. Within the space of
a decade, the number of out-of-school children has dropped by more
than 38 million and the gender gap in formal education has narrowed.
Literacy rates have also increased, albeit slowly.

The current global economic downturn is threatening to halt or even

reverse this progress. More than ever, it is critical that we invest in
the development of quality systems for learning throughout life. The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights holds that every child and
adult is entitled to education. UNESCO is committed to supporting
countries to make this right become a reality for all.
EDUCATION
COUNTS
because it helps
eradicate poverty
and hunger
Education gives people the knowledge and skills they
need to live better lives. It can boost productivity and
open doors to jobs and credit.

Poverty is one of the main reasons children are being

left out of school.
The world’s 500 richest people have Less than 1% of the world’s gross
a combined income greater than the domestic product - $300 billion - would
world’s 416 million poorest people. lift 1 billion people out of poverty. This
amount represents 1.6% of the income of
2.5 billion people live on less than $2 a the richest 10% of the world’s population.
day, accounting for 40% of the world’s
population but only 5% of its income. Each additional year of schooling raises
average annual gross domestic product
(GDP) growth by 0.37%.
 MDG 1
One extra year of
schooling increases an
individual’s earnings
by up to 10%.

+1 year = +10%
171
million
people could be
lifted out of poverty
if all students in low-
income countries
left school with basic
reading skills – Australia 20.6 mn
equivalent to a 12% Cambodia 14.8 mn
cut in world poverty. Canada 33 mn
Colombia 45.3 mn
171 million could mean Netherlands 16.6 mn
the total combined Tunisia 10.4 mn
populations of... Uganda 30.9 mn
 MDG 1
$16 billion a
year in aid would
send all children to
school in low-income
countries.
This is about half of the
amount Europeans and
Americans spend on
ice cream annually
($31 billion).
(Worldwatch Institute)

$13 bn
a year is spent on perfume
$12 bn
is spent on pet food in
$8 bn
is spent on cosmetics
in Europe and Europe and the US. in the US.
the US.
EDUCATION
COUNTS
The second
Millennium
Development Goal
recognizes the
universal right to
primary education for
girls and boys alike
Many countries have made significant Sub-Saharan Africa has increased net
achievements towards universal primary enrolment by almost a third, despite
education during the past decade. a large increase in the school age
From 1999 to 2009, an additional population. South and West Asia has also
56 million children enrolled in primary made substantial progess.
school.
However, in 2009 67 million primary school-aged
children were not in school. Millions more start

MDG 2
primary school only to drop out before completing the
last grade.
(According to preliminary estimates carried out by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics in June 2011)

Deep-rooted inequalities linked to wealth,

gender, ethnicity, language and location are still
a major barrier to universal primary education.

Globally, an additional
1.9 million teachers are
There are also worrying signs that needed in classrooms to
improved access to school has not been
accompanied by enhanced education
achieve universal primary
quality. education by 2015.
EDUCATION
COUNTS
because it promotes
gender equality and
empowers women
Education is the key to addressing gender-based
inequalities and exclusion. While girls and boys
have the same fundamental human rights, young
women generally receive less education, have fewer
opportunities and enjoy less freedom than young
men. Girls who live in remote rural areas or speak a
minority language are often excluded from education.
Almost two-thirds of the world’s 792 In 2010, 9 out of 151 elected heads of
million illiterate adults are women. state and 11 of 192 heads of government
were women.
Women are paid less for their work and
have limited access to positions Wages, agricultural income and
of decision-making and power. productivity – all critical for reducing
poverty – are higher where women
involved in agriculture receive a better
education.
22 %
In Kenya, if women farmers are given the same level
of education as their male partners, their yields for
maize, beans and cowpeas increase by up to 22%.
(International Food Policy Research Institute)

MDG 3
In Mali, women with secondary education
or higher have an average of 3 children
...

... while those with no

education have an average
of 7 children.

Education plays an
important role in
giving women more
control over how many
children they have.
An extra year of
female schooling
reduces fertility rates
by 10%.
(WORLD BANK)
In Latin America,
children whose mothers
have some secondary
schooling remain in

MDG 3
school for two to three
more years
than children
of mothers
with less
schooling.
(Inter-American
Development Bank)

years
EDUCATION
COUNTS
because it reduces
child mortality
Education is associated with lower levels
of child mortality and better nutrition and health.

Children of mothers with secondary education or

higher are twice as likely to survive beyond age 5 as
those whose mothers have no education.
While child mortality decreased
worldwide from 77 deaths per 1,000 live By the time these children enter school,
births in 2000 to 71 deaths per 1,000 in their potential for learning has been
2010, each year 9.3 million children die diminished due to malnourishment.
before they reach the starting age for
primary school. Being born to a mother under 18
increases the risk of infant mortality
Approximately 1 child in 3 under the by 60%.
age of 5 suffers from moderate to severe (UNICEF)
stunting (178 million).
50 % A child born to a
mother who can
read is 50% more
likely to survive
past age 5.

MDG 4

Each extra year of a mother’s schooling reduces

the probability of infant mortality by 5% to 10%.
 1.8
million

In sub-Saharan Africa,
an estimated 1.8 million
children’s lives could
have been saved in 2008 if
their mothers had at least
a secondary education.
 MDG 4
19% 68 %
Children of educated mothers
are more likely to be vaccinated
and less likely to be stunted because of malnourishment.
In Indonesia, child vaccination rates are 19% when
mothers have no education. This increases to 68% when
mothers have at least a secondary school education.
EDUCATION
COUNTS
because it helps
improve maternal
health
Empowerment through education is one of the
strongest antidotes to maternal risk. Women with
higher levels of education are more likely to delay and
space out pregnancies, and to seek health care and
support.
Complications in pregnancy and There is a disproportionately high
childbirth are a leading cause of death number of unwanted pregnancies among
and disability among women, claiming young, unmarried girls, who often lack
hundreds of thousands of lives each year. access to contraception.

One-quarter to one-half of girls in

developing countries become mothers
before they are 18.
 Young women of middle
to higher secondary
school-age account for
1 in 7 deaths related
to pregnancy and
childbirth.
(Center for Global Development)

MDG 5
In Burkina Faso, mothers with
secondary education are twice
as likely to give birth in health
facilities as those with no

2X
education.
In Namibia, the proportion
of births assisted by skilled
personnel is 60% among the
poorest 20% of the population
and 98% among the richest 20%
of the population.

98%

60%

poorest 20% richest 20%

In Niger, women face a
1 in 7 chance of dying
in childbirth.

MDG 5
In rich countries,
the odds average
1 in 8,000.
EDUCATION
COUNTS
because it combats
HIV and AIDS, malaria
and other life-
threatening diseases
Education fosters access to treatment and helps
combat stigma and discrimination. An estimated 33
million people were living with HIV in 2007, of whom 2
million were under 15.

90% of infected children die before reaching school

age if they do not receive antiretroviral therapy.
In 2008, malaria killed nearly 900,000 Nearly 90% of all cases of malaria are in
people, mostly children, with some 250 Africa, where 1 in 10 children dies before
million cases reported worldwide. reaching the age of 5.
(UNAIDS)
Women with post-
primary education are
5 times more likely than
illiterate women to be
educated on the topic of
HIV and AIDS.
(UNFPA/UNAIDS/UNIFEM)

MDG 6
 HIV and AIDS account
for 77% of the teacher
shortage in countries with
high HIV rates.

 HIV and AIDS

 Other causes
In Tanzania, an estimated 45,000
extra teachers were needed in
2006 to replace those lost to the
epidemic.
In Malawi, 27% of women
with no education know
that HIV transmission
risks can be reduced by
the mother taking drugs
during pregnancy. For
women with secondary
education, the figure
rises to 59%.
In Zambia, Zambia
malaria deaths
fell by 66%
in the last six 2/3
years, thanks to
the recruitment
and education of
large numbers 6 years
of community-
based health
workers who distributed bed nets and diagnosed and
treated patients free of charge and to indoor spraying.

Ethiopia

MDG 6
The same approach has 1/2
halved malaria deaths in
Ethiopia in just 3 years.
(WHO)

3 years
EDUCATION
COUNTS
because it helps
ensure environmental
sustainability
Education helps people make decisions that meet
the needs of the present without compromising those
of future generations. Education for sustainable
development is fundamental to changing values,
attitudes and behaviours.

The world faces critical challenges such A large proportion of the world’s
as climate change, rapid depletion population lives without access to safe
of natural resources, frequent natural drinking water and sanitation. There
disasters and the loss of biodiversity. are at least 100 million slum dwellers
globally.
Decisions and action taken today have an
impact on the future.
More than 2.6 billion
people still lack access
to proper sanitation and
1.1 billion people have no
regular access to clean
water.

As a result, 1.8 million

children die from
diarrhoea each year.

443 million school days

are lost globally due to
water-related illnesses.
(HDR 2006).

MDG 7
In Ethiopia, 6.8 million people gained
access to improved sanitation from
1990 to 2006. This was partly the result
of having educated communities about
the links between sanitation and health, io n
and of implementing new, affordable
6.8 mill
technologies.
(WHO)

1990 2006

Girls spend up to 15 hours There is no time left

for education when
a week obtaining water children spend hours
each day collecting
for their families and water.
villages.
(Human Development Report 2006).
Natural disasters
such as droughts have
had significant effects on
enrolment and years in school.

MDG 7
Environmental shocks can be particularly damaging
for education, raising the probability of children in
low-income households being involved in full-time
work leaving no time for school.
EDUCATION
COUNTS
because it is essential
to a global partnership
for development
The Millennium Development Goals represent a global
partnership for development. As part of this pact, poor
countries agreed to work towards achieving these goals
and to do their part to ensure greater accountability
to citizens and efficient use of resources. But for poor
countries to achieve the first 7 goals, rich countries
need to keep their end of the bargain, with increased
and more effective aid, debt relief, fairer trade rules
and access to technologies.
Just as the MDGs represent an integrated In adopting these goals, the international
view of global development, the community recognized the potential
Education for All goals, adopted in 2000, and the promise that education
set out a broad strategy for providing a holds to unlock personal and human
quality education for all. development, prosperity, democracy
and social justice.
 $
It is estimated
that reaching
some of the
Education for
All goals by 2015
will require an
additional $16
billion per year.
16
Aid to basic education
in sub-Saharan Africa
decreased from
bn

$1.72 billion in 2007 to

$1.65 billion in 2008.
MDG 8
To counter the recent
global economic
downturn, advanced
economies spent
approximately
$10 trillion shoring up
their financial systems
by providing capital, loan
guarantees, and lending
and asset protection.
That figure represents around 30% of
their combined GDP.

Global aid spending

on basic education
stagnated at $4.7 billion
in 2008. Only $2 billion
went to the poorest
countries.
Worldwide military
expenditure for 2009 was
$1.5 trillion.
2009
Despite the financial crisis,
this represents an increase
of 6% in real terms
compared to 2008.
+ %

The increase in aid

during the same period
was only 0.7%
(Stockholm International Peace Research Institute)

The equivalent
of 0.5% of the
military budget
was spent on
aid to basic
education in
2008.
MDG 8
Notes
Education is the most
basic insurance against
poverty.

Education represents
opportunity. At all ages,
it empowers people with
the knowledge, skills
and confidence they
need to shape a better
future.

EDUCATION COUNTS. United Nations

Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization
Education for All