[Wigsat-l] New Publications - UNESCO Institute for Statistics

[Sophia Huyer]

18 December 2008
Global Education Digest
The 2008 edition presents the latest available data for more than 200  
countries and territories including 2007 data for a number of  
countries. It includes a wider range of indicators than previous  
editions. In particular, it presents data collected through the World  
Education Indicators (WEI) programme, which is led by the UIS and  
participating countries, as well as the UOE data collection, which is  
jointly administered by the UIS, the Organisation for Economic Co- 
operation and Development (OECD) and Eurostat. These data tables  
provide detailed information on the education systems and resources of  
62 middle-and high-income countries.

The Digest also presents the initial results of a major UIS initiative  
to build a more robust set of historical time series data to track  
global trends in primary and secondary education. These data can be  
used to provide a global perspective on long-term progress towards  
educational goals and to identify the advances and setbacks of  
individual countries.

The Institute’s historical dataset now includes about 30 indicators  
for more than 200 countries and territories. The Digest presents 15 of  
these indicators, which are most commonly used for monitoring progress  
towards Education for All and related targets of the Millennium  
Development Goals. The complete dataset can be accessed in the UIS  
Data Centre.

Finally, the Digest presents an insider’s view of how UIS data are  
collected, processed and reported. It examines the major components of  
the Institute’s annual education survey and the policy priorities that  
it is designed to address. The report also focuses on the diverse  
challenges and mechanisms involved in producing cross-national  
indicators, which are essential for benchmarking progress towards  
national and international education goals.

Online resources:
English version of the Digest (Arabic, French and Spanish versions  
forthcoming)
Complete historical time series available in the Data Centre


Education For All Global Monitoring Report
Entitled Overcoming inequality: why governance matters, the 2009  
edition of the report focuses on the failure of governments across the  
world to tackle deep and persistent inequalities in education which is  
consigning millions of children to lives of poverty and diminished  
opportunity.

Blaming a combination of political indifference, weak domestic  
policies, and the failure of aid donors to act on commitments, the  
report  warns that ‘unacceptable’ national and global education  
disparities are undermining efforts to achieve international  
development goals.

This annual publication is prepared by an independent team based at  
UNESCO. It monitors progress towards the six EFA goals adopted in  
Dakar, Senegal in 2000. The UIS is a key member of the EFA monitoring  
team, providing statistical annexes and analysis which lay the  
foundations for the report.

The 2009 edition documents what is described as a ‘vast gulf’ in  
educational opportunity separating rich and poor countries. In  
particular, the report notes that:

• One in three children in developing countries (193 million in total)  
reaches primary school age having had their brain development and  
education prospects impaired by malnutrition – a figure that rises to  
over 40% in parts of South Asia. High economic growth in some  
countries has done little to reduce child malnutrition, calling into  
question current public policies.

• 75 million children of primary school age are not in school,  
including just under one-third of the relevant age group in sub- 
Saharan Africa.

• Whereas over a third of children in rich countries complete  
university, in much of sub-Saharan Africa, a smaller share completes  
primary education – and just 5% attend university level.

To download the report, consult the Global Monitoring Report website,  
which offers access to a wide range of materials in several languages,  
including press releases, summaries, regional overviews, background  
papers and interviews.



  International Literacy Statistics: A Review of Concepts, Methodology  
and Current Data
Literacy is considered to be one of the most neglected goals of the  
movement towards Education for All. Several Asian countries have  
reported spectacular progress since the 1990s. Yet globally, the  
numbers and distributions of illiterate adults have hardly changed  
over the past 50 years primarily because of population growth.

This UIS publication traces paradigm shifts in the understanding and  
measurement of literacy over the past five decades. It provides  
analysis of the current situation based on conventional statistics,  
while explaining changes in UIS methodologies and measures.

For researchers and practitioners in international development, it  
serves as a practical guide on the interpretation of conventional  
literacy statistics. The report also highlights emerging statistical  
issues and methodologies, including the use of assessment data  
produced through initiatives such as the Literacy Assessment and  
Monitoring Programme of the UIS.

Download the report in English (French version forthcoming).

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UNESCO Institute for Statistics | CP 6128, Succ. Centre-Ville |  
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