The State of the World's Children 1999
Carol Bellamy, Executive Director, United Nations Children's Fund
Contents
Foreword by Kofi A. Annan, Secretary-General of the United
Nations
Chapter I
Education For All: Making the right a reality
The right to education
The education revolution
Investing in human rights
Chapter II
Statistics
General note on the data
Explanation of symbols
Under-five mortality rankings
Regional summaries country list
Tables
1 Basic indicators
2 Nutrition
3 Health
4 Education
5 Demographic indicators
6 Economic indicators
7 Women
8 The rate of progress
Panels
1 Education in free fall: A region in the midst of
transition
2 What children understand: The Monitoring Learning
Achievement project
3 Beyond the ruler: Competency-based learning in Tunisia
4 Second-hand computer, first-class vision: Thailand's
CHILD project
5 A Tanzanian school welcomes the disabled
6 The floating classroom: School clusters in Cambodia
7 Joyful learning: Empowering India's teachers
8 Which language for education?
9 A new beginning: Education in emergencies
10 In India: Helping the poor choose school
11 Egypt's community schools: A model for the education of
girls
12 The macho problem: Where boys are underachieving
13 Women educators push the limits for girls in Africa
14 Parent education: Supporting children's first teachers
Spotlights
Sub-Saharan Africa
Middle East and North Africa
South Asia
East Asia and the Pacific
Latin America and the Caribbean
Central and Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent
States, and the Baltic States
Industrialized countries
Text figures
Fig. 1 Children out of school
Fig. 2 Net primary enrolment, by region (around 1995)
Fig. 3 Reaching grade five, by region (around 1995)
Fig. 4 International milestones for education
Fig. 5 Net primary enrolment, by region (1960-2000)
Fig. 6 AIDS orphans: A looming education crisis in
Sub-Saharan Africa
Fig. 7 Primary enrolment: Where the boys and girls are
Fig. 8 Education's impact on child mortality
Fig. 9 At a glance: The gender gap in primary education
and related indicators
Fig. 10 Generational impact of educating girls
Fig. 11 Who benefits from public spending on education?
Fig. 12 School mapping
Fig. 13 MEENA: An animated advocate for girls' rights
Fig. 14 Cost of education for all by the year 2010
References
Glossary
Text figures
Fig. 1 Children out of school
There are about 130 million primary school age children in
developing countries who do not attend school, out of a
total of about 625 million children of this age group in
these countries.
In school 495 million (79%)
Out of school 130 million (21%)
Source: Facts & Figures 1998, UNICEF, New York, 1998; and
World Population Prospects, The 1996 Revision, United
Nations, New York, 1997.
Fig. 2 Net primary enrolment, by region (around 1995)
Net primary enrolment -- the number of children enrolled in
primary school as a percentage of the total number of
children in the primary school age group -- is a key
indicator of progress towards the goal of Education For All.
Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are the regions facing the
greatest challenges in enrolling all their children in
primary school by the year 2000.
Percentage of all primary school age children
Sub-Saharan Africa 57
South Asia 68
Middle East and North Africa 81
Latin America and Caribbean 92
CEE/CIS* and the Baltic States 94
East Asia and Pacific 96
Industrialized countries 98
* Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of
Independent States.
Source: UNESCO and UNICEF, 1998.
Fig. 3 Reaching grade five, by region (around 1995)
In addition to those millions of children who do not attend
school, many others start school but do not reach grade
five. Completion of grade four is considered one indication
of minimal education attainment. Note the difference in
pattern when this chart is compared to the one on net
primary enrolment (Fig. 2).
Percentage of all children who start school
Sub-Saharan Africa 67
South Asia 59
Middle East and North Africa 91
Latin America and Caribbean 74
East Asia and Pacific 90
Industrialized countries 99
Note: Data for Central and Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth
of Independent States, and the Baltic States were not
available.
Source: The State of the World's Children 1999, UNICEF, New
York, 1998 (Table 4).
Fig. 4 International milestones for education
1948: (Dec.) The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is
adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations.
Education is declared a basic right of all people.
1959: (Nov.) The Declaration on the Rights of the Child is
adopted by the UN General Assembly. Education is declared
the right of every child.
1960-1966: UNESCO holds four World Regional Conferences on
Education that help establish time-bound regional goals to
provide free and compulsory primary education to all
children. The meetings are held in Karachi (1960), Addis
Ababa (1961), Santiago (1962) and Tripoli (1966).
1969: (Jan.) The International Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Racial Discrimination enters into force,
proclaiming the right of all to education, regardless of
race or ethnicity.
1976: (Jan.) The International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights enters into force, guaranteeing the
right to education for all.
1979: The International Year of the Child is designated to
reinvigorate the principles of the Declaration on the Rights
of the Child and raise awareness of children's special
needs.
1980: Primary enrolment doubles in Latin America and Asia
and triples in Africa, but the goal of universal primary
education by 1980 is unmet. Of all 6- to 11-year-olds,
approximately one third in developing countries and about
one twelfth in industrialized countries are not in school.
The target year of 1980 had been set by the UNESCO World
Regional Conferences on Education, held between 1960 and
1966.
1981: (Sept.) The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women enters into force, calling
for the elimination of discrimination against women and for
equal rights in education.
1982: Debt crisis begins. Commercial banks stop lending to
developing countries after several countries announce that
they will suspend debt service payments. IMF and the World
Bank begin to refinance existing loans, requiring structural
adjustments. Public-sector services, including education,
are severely affected.
1985: (July) The Third World Conference on Women (Nairobi).
Education is declared the basis for improving the status of
women. Participating governments agree to encourage the
elimination of discriminatory gender stereotypes from
educational material, to redesign textbooks to present a
positive image of women and to include women's studies in
the curriculum.
1990: (Mar.)The World Conference on Education for All
(Jomtien). The conference, co-sponsored by UNDP, UNESCO,
UNICEF, the World Bank and, later, UNFPA presented a global
consensus on an expanded vision of basic education.
1990: (Sept.) The Convention on the Rights of the Child
enters into force, codifying the right to education for all
children into international law.
1990: (Sept.) The World Summit for Children (New York). 159
countries agree on a series of goals for education,
including universal access to basic education and completion
of primary education by at least 80 per cent of primary
school age children by the year 2000.
1990: (Dec.) The International Convention on the Protection
of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their
Families, adopted by the UN General Assembly (but not yet in
force), declares education as a right of the children of all
migrant workers and guest labourers.
1993: (Dec.) The E-9 Education Summit (New Delhi).
Representatives of the Governments of the nine most populous
nations in the developing world (Bangladesh, Brazil, China,
Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan)
pledge to achieve the goal of universal primary education by
the year 2000. Together, these countries account for half of
the world's population and 70 per cent of illiterate adults.
1993: (Dec.) The United Nations Standard Rules on the
Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities,
adopted by the UN General Assembly, declares that States
should recognize the principle of equal educational
opportunities at all levels for children, youths and adults
with disabilities.
1994: (June) The World Conference on Special Needs
Education: Access and Equality (Salamanca). Participants
declare that all countries should incorporate special needs
education into their domestic education strategy.
1994: (Sept.) The International Conference on Population and
Development (Cairo). Participants call for the provision of
universal access to high-quality primary, technical and
non-formal education by the year 2015, with a particular
emphasis on the education of girls.
1995: (Mar.) The World Summit for Social Development
(Copenhagen). Participating States commit themselves to
promote and attain universal and equitable access to quality
education to help eradicate poverty, promote employment and
foster social integration, with a particular emphasis on
girls' education.
1995: (Sept.) The Fourth World Conference on Women
(Beijing). The conference calls for the elimination of
discrimination in education at all levels, for the creation
of gender-sensitive education systems and for equal
educational and training opportunities for women. The
critical impact of girls' education is emphasized.
1996: (June) Mid-decade Meeting of the International
Consultative Forum on Education for All (Amman). Meeting
assesses progress towards the year 2000 goals set at the
1990 World Conference on Education for All.
1997: (Oct.) The International Conference on Child Labour
(Oslo). Participating governments declare all work that
interferes with the child's education unacceptable and agree
to create time-bound programmes for high-quality universal
and compulsory basic education, with a particular emphasis
on girls' education.
Fig. 5 Net primary enrolment, by region (1960-2000)
The number of children enrolled in primary school continues
to increase both globally and for all regions of the
developing world. Nevertheless, the goal of Education For
All by the year 2000 will remain elusive in most regions.
Data for Central and Eastern Europe, the Commonwealth of
Independent States, and the Baltic States were not
available.
Net enrolment ratio
1960 1970 1980 1990 1995
East Asia 56 61 74 85 95
Latin America/Caribbean 58 72 83 87 90
World 59 66 73 79 82
Arab States 39 51 67 77 81
South Asia 44 55 60 67 69
Sub-Saharan Africa 25 34 57 50 58
Source: UNESCO and UNICEF, 1998.
Fig. 6 AIDS orphans: A looming education crisis in
sub-Saharan Africa
HIV/AIDS is having a devastating impact on children in
sub-Saharan Africa. Over 90 per cent of all AIDS orphans --
children who have lost their mother or both parents to AIDS
-- live in sub-Saharan Africa.
Many of these orphans risk never completing basic schooling.
Lack of resources limits responses, but among the measures
in place are free primary education policies in Malawi and
Uganda that provide vital support for orphans. Malawi has
also developed a national orphan policy and is focusing on
community care approaches, and South Africa is testing
community-based care initiatives. Far more needs to be done
to meet the crisis, and ensuring the right of orphans to an
education must be an essential part of these efforts.
Geographical distribution of deaths attributable to HIV/AIDS
Sub-Saharan Africa 83%
Asia 6%
Latin America/Caribbean 5%
Other 6%
AIDS orphans in eight African countries
Country Cumulative total (1997)
Burkina Faso 200,000
Congo, Dem. Rep. 410,000
Ethiopia 840,000
Kenya 440,000
Malawi 360,000
Tanzania 730,000
Uganda 1,700,000
Zimbabwe 450,000
Source: Report on the Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic, June 1998,
UNAIDS and WHO, Geneva, 1998.
Fig. 7 Primary enrolment: Where the boys and girls are
is not available on the gopher.
This figure can be found on the website in PDF format at:
URL http://www.unicef.org/sowc99/
Fig. 8 Education's impact on child mortality
A 1997 UNICEF study examined the impact of health,
nutrition, water and sanitation and education interventions
on health in nine countries and the Indian state of Kerala,
all of which had made significant reductions in infant
mortality. Of the interventions, education was found to have
the greatest impact on health indicators, including rates of
infant and under-five mortality, life expectancy at birth
and total fertility. By way of example, the graphs below
show a drop in the infant mortality rate preceded by a rise
in primary enrolment in the Republic of Korea and Costa
Rica.
Republic of Korea
1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990
Primary enrolment
rate (gross) 90 98 101 105 103 100 101
Infant mortality
rate 69 61 53 41 17.3 13.3 12.8
Costa Rica
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990
Primary enrolment
rate (gross) 80 93 110 106 103
Infant mortality
rate 95 80 67 21 15
Source: Santosh Mehrotra and Richard Jolly, eds.,
Development with a Human Face, Clarendon Press, Oxford,
1997.
Fig. 9 At a glance: The gender gap in primary education and
related indicators
The gender gap in primary education, shown on this map, is
the percentage point difference between boys' and girls' net
primary school enrolment. In most developing countries,
boys' enrolment exceeds that of girls. The difference is
largest in South Asia, where boys' enrolment exceeds girls'
by 12 percentage points, in the Middle East and North Africa
by 11 percentage points and in sub-Saharan Africa by 9
percentage points. There is no difference between boys' and
girls' enrolment in industrialized countries; in Latin
America and the Caribbean, girls' enrolment exceeds that of
boys.
Sources: UNESCO and UNICEF, 1998, for net enrolment; The
State of the World's Children 1998 and The State of the
World's Children 1999, for percentage point difference
between boys' and girls' enrolment, per cent of central
government expenditure to education and GNP per capita
(1996); UNAIDS for HIV/AIDS figures; ILO for child labour
figures.
-----------------------
Map boxes
Industrialized countries
Net enrolment: 98
% point difference between boys' and girls' enrolment: 0
% of central government expenditure to education: 4
GNP per capita: $27,086
Latin America and Caribbean
Net enrolment: 92
% point difference between boys' and girls' enrolment: 0
% of central government expenditure to education: 11
GNP per capita: $3,681
CEE/CIS* and Baltic States
Net enrolment: 94
% point difference between boys' and girls' enrolment: 1
% of central government expenditure to education: 6
GNP per capita: $2,182
Sub-Saharan Africa
Net enrolment: 57
% point difference between boys' and girls' enrolment: 9
% of central government expenditure to education: 14
GNP per capita: $528
Middle East and North Africa
Net enrolment: 81
% point difference between boys' and girls' enrolment: 11
% of central government expenditure to education: 14
GNP per capita: $1,798
South Asia
Net enrolment: 68
% point difference between boys' and girls' enrolment: 12
% of central government expenditure to education: 3
GNP per capita: $380
East Asia and Pacific
Net enrolment: 96
% point difference between boys' and girls' enrolment: 1
% of central government expenditure to education: 11
GNP per capita: $1,193
-----------------------
Numbers to note
Over 8.2 million children aged 14 or younger have lost their
mother or both parents to AIDS -- 7.8 million in sub-Saharan
Africa alone -- and that number is increasing by 50,000 a
year. In developing countries, about 250 million children
between the ages of 5 and 14 work -- around 153 million in
Asia, 80 million in Africa and 17.5 million in Latin
America. These millions of child workers and AIDS orphans
are at risk of being denied their right to basic education,
making it all the more difficult to lift themselves out of
poverty and exploitation.
For a list of countries in each region, see the Regional
summaries country list.
* Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of
Independent States.
Fig. 10 Generational impact of educating girls
is not available on the gopher.
This figure can be found on the website in PDF format at:
URL http://www.unicef.org/sowc99/
Fig. 11 Who benefits from public spending on education?
On average 33 per cent of public spending on education
benefits the richest fifth of the population, while only 13
per cent benefits the poorest fifth. Public expenditure on
basic social services such as primary education benefits
society more equitably, while spending at the tertiary
(university) level benefits the richest fifth of the
population.
Beneficiaries of public education
Percentage of public spending
Education
Poorest fifth 13
Richest fifth 33
Beneficiaries of public education expenditure
at the primary vs. tertiary level
Percentage of public spending
Primary level
Poorest fifth 19
Richest fifth 17
Tertiary (university) level
Poorest fifth 3
Richest fifth 66
Source: The World Bank, as cited in UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA,
UNICEF, WHO and the World Bank, Implementing the 20/20
Initiative: Achieving universal access to basic social
services, UNICEF, New York, 1998, pp. 8-9.
Fig. 12 School mapping
is not available on the gopher.
This figure can be found on the website in PDF format at:
URL http://www.unicef.org/sowc99/
Fig. 13 Meena: An animated advocate for girls' rights
is not available on the gopher.
This figure can be found on the website in PDF format at:
URL http://www.unicef.org/sowc99/
Fig. 14 Costs of Education For All by the year 2010
Education For All carries an additional $7 billion a year
price tag -- less than Americans spend annually on cosmetics
and Europeans on ice cream.
UNICEF has estimated what it would cost to make up the
difference between the present education spending and the
additional spending that would be needed to achieve the goal
of universal primary enrolment -- a net primary enrolment
rate of 100 per cent -- by the year 2010. The greatest
additional expenditures would be greatest in sub-Saharan
Africa and South Asia, the regions with the highest numbers
of out-of-school children. In the Middle East and North
Africa region and the Latin America and Caribbean region,
the numbers of out-of-school children are lower but
per-pupil costs are higher.
The table below compares actual with additional spending
needed, and it shows that expenditures would have to
increase by around a third in sub-Saharan Africa and a fifth
in South Asia. In contrast, in Latin America and the
Caribbean the required additional spending would represent
less than a tenth of the current actual spending. In all
regions, the average additional spending needed per year
would be less than 1 per cent of GNP.
Current annual Required additional
expenditure average annual expenditure
US$ % of US$
(billions) GNP* (billions)
Sub-Saharan
Africa 7.0 1.9 1.9
South Asia 9.0 1.9 1.6
Middle East/
North Africa 14.0 2.5 1.6
East Asia/
Pacific 20.0 1.2 0.7
Latin America/
Caribbean 30.0 1.8 1.1
* Unweighted averages.
Notes: This table summarizes UNICEF estimates of the average
annual cost of reaching EFA in developing countries between
the years 2000 and 2010. The table also shows the present
level of expenditure. Figures are expressed in 1995 dollars
and as a percentage of GNP by region. Costs refer only to
current costs and do not include the cost of building new
schools. The latter, nevertheless, would need to be incurred
only once and in most countries would not represent more
than around 10 per cent of total costs. Finally, these
estimates do not attempt to include the costs of upgrading
educational quality.
Sources: Delamonica, Enrique, Santosh Mehrotra and Jan
Vandemoortele, Universalizing Primary Education: How much
will it cost?, UNICEF Staff Working Papers Series
(forthcoming). Estimates are based on UNESCO data (current
net enrolment rates, per-pupil cost and current primary
education expenditure) and United Nations Population
Division projections to the year 2010 (primary school age
children for every country). Required additional
expenditure from UNICEF estimates.
* * * *
Glossary
ABC
Assessment of Basic Competencies (Bangladesh)
AGEI
African Girl's Education Initiative
AIDS
acquired immune deficiency syndrome
BRAC
Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee
CAPS
Continuous Assessment and Progression System (Myanmar)
CEE
Central and Eastern Europe
CHILD
Children's Integrated Learning and Development (Thailand)
CIDA
Canadian International Development Agency
CIS
Commonwealth of Independent States
COPE
Complementary Opportunities for Primary Education (Uganda)
CRI
Children's Resources International
ECCD
early childhood care for child growth and development
EDUCO
Programa de Educacíon con Participación de la Communidad (El
Salvador)
EFA
Education For All
FAWE
Forum for African Women Educationalists
GAPS
Gender and Primary Schooling in Africa
GDP
gross domestic product
GNP
gross national product
HIV
human immunodeficiency virus
IDA
International Development Association
IDEAL
Intensive District Approach to Education for All
(Bangladesh)
IDS
Institute of Development Studies (United Kingdom)
ILO
International Labour Organization
IMF
International Monetary Fund
IRI
Interactive Radio Instruction
MLA
Monitoring Learning Achievement
MLL
Minimum Levels of Learning (India)
MONEE
Monitoring Social Conditions and Public Policy in Central
and Eastern Europe
MOU
Memorandum of Understanding
NGO
non-governmental organization
NSED
National School Enrolment Day (Philippines)
ODA
official development assistance
OECD
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
OREALC
Regional Office for Education in Latin America and the
Caribbean (UNESCO)
ORS
oral rehydration salts
ORT
oral rehydration therapy
PAGE
Programme for the Advancement of Girls' Education (Zambia)
SIDA
Swedish International Development Authority
TEP
Teaching Emergency Package
UN
United Nations
UNAIDS
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
UNDP
United Nations Development Programme
UNESCO
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization
UNFPA
United Nations Population Fund
UNHCR
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF
United Nations Children's Fund
UNIFEM
United Nations Development Fund for Women
WHO
World Health Organization
ZINTEC
Zimbabwe Integrated Teacher Education Course
Note: All dollars are US dollars.
|
