Facts and Stats on Education in Africa (Part 2)

I can’t believe it was three yeas ago that I posted the first post of interesting facts I’ve come across on education in Africa. Brought back by popular demand, here are some more interesting facts and stats on education in Africa. Special thanks to Kristin for compiling most of these 🙂

Facts on Girls’ Education in Africa

• A girl who finishes basic education is 3 times less likely to contract HIV/AIDS. (USAID)
• If all women in sub-Saharan Africa finished secondary education, 1.8 million lives could be saved annually. (USAID)
• Nearly half (47%) of primary school aged girls are not attending school. (Nation Master)
• For every year that a girl remains in school beyond 4^th grade, their wages increase 20%. (USAID)
• Between 2004 and 2010, pregnancy among Tanzanian girls aged 15 to 19 years fell by about 12%. Still, more than 40% of young women begin having children by age 18, and the country has one of the highest adolescent pregnancy rates in the world. (UNICEF)
• In 2010, a survey showed that at least 93% of girls from the wealthiest households completed primary education, as compared to only 54% from the poorest families. (The Citizen)
• Girls in urban areas of Tanzania were eight times more likely to finish secondary education than girls in rural areas. (The Citizen)
• In Tanzania, 49% of girls among the wealthiest households compared with only 9% from the poorest families complete secondary education. (The Citizen)

School Enrollment in Africa

• Globally, 69 million school-age children are not currently attending school. (The New York Times)
• Currently, Tanzanian children are expected to receive 5.3 years of schooling in their lifetimes. (UN)
• About 58% of 5-to- 6-year-olds in Tanzania do not attend pre-primary schools, which serves as a foundation for better educational outcomes. (The Citizen)
• There are 604,378 primary-school aged children who do not currently attend school. (Nation Master)
• Only 72% of students complete primary school. (Nation Master)
• The student-teacher ratio in Tanzanian primary schools is 55.86 students per teacher. (Nation Master)
• Two thirds of Tanzanian children do not go on to secondary school. (UNICEF)
• Only 0.7% of students enroll in tertiary education. (Nation Master)

Poverty and Education

• Many of the 7.6 million young Tanzanian children today are living in poverty.  (The Citizen)
• Typically, poor countries devote budgets for education disproportionately to universities and higher education, because urban, middle-class students and their families have political clout. Consequently, primary schools in rural areas and urban slums are widely neglected. (The New York Times)
• 88% of Tanzania schoolchildren in urban areas were attending primary school, as compared with 78% in rural schools. (The Citizen)
• For each year of school completed, an individual’s earnings increase by 10%. (USAID)
• On average, Tanzanian adults have had 5.1 years of schooling. (UN)

Literacy in Africa

• Less than three-quarters (73%) of Tanzanian adults are literate. (World Bank)
• Among Tanzanians aged 15 to 24 years, 79% of males and 76% or females are literate. (World Bank)