Ten percent of the world’s children do not receive the most basic level of education (primary school).  This number is most pronounced in Sub-Saharan Africa, with 23% of children not attending primary school.  Seventeen percent of the world’s children of secondary-school-age do not attend school.  Fifteen percent (over 1 in 7) of all adults in the US did not complete high school (this number is particularly high among Hispanics, at 39%).  On average, adults across the world receive only 6 years of formal education.  In the US, the average is 12 years of formal education.

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Despite the importance of education, all of the world’s countries (on average) spend less than 5% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on education.  The US spends approximately 6% of GDP on public education, ranking it 45th out of 180 countries.

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Approximately 16% of the world’s adults (1 in 6) are illiterate.  Countries in which the majority of the adult population are illiterate include Afghanistan and many Sub-Saharan African countries.  In other countries, the majority of women are illiterate (e.g., India, Nepal, Pakistan, Yemen).  In the US, it is estimated that 1% of adults cannot read or write.

 

UNESCO Institute for Statistics – Global Education Digest (2011)

NationMaster – Education Statistics

US Census Bureau – Educational Attainment in the United States (2009)