The good news
Most countries around the world have attained gender parity in primary education,
with an equal number of boys and girls in
school. Among children currently not attending primary school, 53 percent are girls, with a concentration of gender disadvantage in some African countries, including Benin, Chad, Niger,
and Togo. But, even in these countries, progress
has been substantial: in Sub-Saharan Africa the
number of girls for every 100 boys in primary
school increased from 85 in 1999 to 91 in 2008.
Moving from primary to tertiary enrollment
shows three patterns (figure 3.1). First, most
children participate in primary schooling, but
secondary enrollments range from very low to
very high across countries; again, some coun-
tries in Sub-Saharan Africa stand out for their
particularly low rates of participation. In ter
-
tiary education, low participation is the norm
in developing countries. Therefore, increases in
secondary (and tertiary) enrollment for both
boys and girls are necessary in several countries.
Second, at low overall levels of secondary enroll-
ment, girls are less likely to be in school, while
at high levels the pattern reverses with the bias