Background information

on statistics in the UIS

database

February 2025
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) is the statistical office of UNESCO and is the UN depository for global
statistics in the fields of education, science, technology and innovation, culture and communication. The UIS
was established in 1999. It was created to improve UNESCO’s statistical programme and to develop and
deliver the timely, accurate and policy-relevant statistics needed in today’s increasingly complex and rapidly
changing social, political and economic environments.

This publication can be referenced as: Background information on statistics in the UIS database.

Published in 2025 by:

UNESCO Institute for Statistics
P.O. Box 6128, Succursale H
Montréal, Québec H3G 2K8
Canada

[email protected]

Typeset by: UNESCO Institute for Statistics

Cover design by: Abracadabra Estudio de Diseño

ISBN: 978-92-9189-344-7
REF: UIS/2025/ED/TD/09

© UNESCO-UIS 2025

This publication is available in Open Access under the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO) license
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are those of the authors; they are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization.
Table of contents

1. Objective ..................................................................................................................................... 1
2. Data release ............................................................................................................................... 1
3. Data sources .............................................................................................................................. 3
4. Overview of data availability for SDG 4 indicators ..........................................................6
5. Highlights of the data refresh ...............................................................................................9
5.1 Updates to indicator reporting .................................................................................................. 9
5.2 Analysis of data expansion.......................................................................................................... 9
6. UIS surveys on education .................................................................................................... 10
6.1 UIS Survey of Formal Education ............................................................................................... 10
6.2 UIS Survey on Literacy and Educational Attainment .......................................................... 15
7. Multi-year dynamic templates ............................................................................................ 17
7.1 Dynamic templates, workflows and data points produced .............................................. 17
7.2 Templates validation .................................................................................................................. 25
8. Household surveys ................................................................................................................. 27
8.1 UIS produced indicators ............................................................................................................ 27
8.2 Household survey datasets aggregated from partners .....................................................28
8.2.1 ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean) ............................. 28
8.2.2 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report ............................................................................ 29
8.3 Indicator 4.3.1 ............................................................................................................................... 30
8.4 Indicator 4.4.3 ............................................................................................................................... 31
9. Learning assessments and integration of data sources ..............................................33
10. Regional averages in the February 2025 data refresh ............................................. 35

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11. External data sets: Indicators aggregated from partner agencies ....................... 37
11.1 External data sets: Inputs to indicators ................................................................................. 37
11.2 External data sets: Inputs to estimate indicators ...............................................................38
11.2.1 Continued implementation of a hybrid population data policy ....................................... 38
12. Economic statistics ........................................................................................................... 43
13. Methodological notes for education survey data..................................................... 44
13.1 Countries that reported data that could not be released ............................................... 44
13.2 Methodological notes: Non-finance indicators .................................................................. 44
13.3 Methodological notes: Education finance indicators .........................................................45
14. Country notes ..................................................................................................................... 46
15. UIS Resources ..................................................................................................................... 52
Annex 1. UIS validation process of the multi-year dynamic templates .......................... 53
Annex 2. List of Other Policy Relevant Indicators ................................................................ 54

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 1. Objective
This document serves as a reader’s guide to help data users understand and interpret the
education data disseminated by the UIS. It presents the following information:

• The list of symbols accompanying data.

• The annual data release cycles.
• The data sources used by the UIS and their updates, including population and economic
data used to calculate education indicators.
• Specific country notes.
• The production process for learning assessment-based indicators.

2. Data release
Since September 2018, the UIS has consolidated its education data release to one major
release in each September, with new national and regional data. Additionally, the database is
refreshed in February with updates of national data, completing the UIS publication of
educational data for the round of surveys conducted in the previous reference year.

This February 2025 data refresh incorporates data from various sources, including UIS surveys
of national authorities, household surveys, learning assessments, and contributions from UIS
partners. It includes updated country-level data for key SDG 4 indicators and a selection of
Other Policy Relevant Indicators (OPRI) 1.

1
See Annex 2 for the list of OPRI.

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UIS data can be accessed in the following ways:

• UIS Data Browser: An interactive tool that allows users to explore and visualize
education, science, culture, and demographic data. Users can select indicators, filter
them by country or region, and visualize them using various charts. The browser also
provides access to metadata and definitions for each indicator, enabling users to gain
a deeper understanding of the data. Additionally, users can share their queries on
social media or download the data in various formats for further analysis.
• Data API: The Data API facilitates programmatic access to the data within the UIS Data
Browser. It allows users to efficiently retrieve data at regular intervals to inform custom
analysis, data visualizations and applications.
• Bulk Data Download Service (BDDS): BDDS enables access to all UIS databases in
comma-separated values (CSV) format. The BDDS files include both SDG 4 data and
Other Policy Relevant Indicators data.
• Legacy SDG 4 Data Explorer: This browser provides easy-to navigate dashboards
organized by country or indicator and the possibility to download a long format
database. This browser will continue to be maintained until further notice.
• SDG 4 Scorecard Dashboard: This dashboard displays country progress against SDG 4
benchmark Indicators.
• SDG 4 Data Resources: This section contains resources to visualize SDG data,
benchmark data, and the repositories of national publications with administrative data
on education and educational expenditure data.
Metadata files on indicators are available at the following links:

SDG4 indicators: http://tcg.uis.unesco.org/methodological-toolkit/metadata/

OPR indicators: https://tcg.uis.unesco.org/metadata/opri

Please note that as of 23 June 2020, the UIS SDMX API reached its End-of-Life (EOL) and is no
longer up to date with the latest UIS datasets.

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 3. Data sources
The production of international education statistics is a complex technical and political
process involving multiple data sources and multiple data producers or donors. Figure 1
displays the number of the SDG4 global and thematic indicators relying either solely or jointly
on administrative records, surveys/censuses, learning assessments, and expenditure data.

Figure 1. Distribution of SDG 4 global and thematic indicators, by potential data source

Administrative
data
11

5 2 4 Expenditure

Surveys Learning
and censuses 1 assessments 4 Other multiple
7 7

As can be seen in this graph, to produce internationally comparable education indicators, the
UIS uses the main sources of data listed below. These data sources differ in their coverage as
well as the timing and ways in which they are collected:

• Administrative data are based on information usually available from educational

management information systems (EMIS) used by ministries of education for
management and planning purposes and are typically updated on an annual basis.
EMIS should typically cover many types of educational paths and levels, including early
childhood education (ECE), basic education and secondary general education, higher
education, and technical and vocational education and training (TVET). Most
international monitoring of previous global development agendas (Education for All
and the Millennium Development Goals) was based on administrative data produced
by countries and compiled by international organizations on EMIS, which has since
been expanded. Although some administrative data, such as school feeding

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 programmes and teachers’ salaries, are usually available from non-EMIS sources in
education ministries, these should ideally be linked to EMIS.
• Household surveys are an important source of data on access, participation,
completion, literacy, and educational attainment. Surveys differ in terms of coverage,
frequency, objectives and questionnaire design. In contrast to administrative data, they
are collected less frequently, and by a variety of organizations and countries.
Household survey data are usually available from non-EMIS sources outside of
ministries but should also ideally be linked to EMIS.
• Learning assessments include national school-based assessments designed to
measure specific learning outcomes at a particular age or grade considered relevant
for national policymakers. They encompass cross-national initiatives (either regional
or global) that are based on a common, agreed-upon framework and follow similar
procedures to yield comparable data on learning outcomes. Assessment data can be
collected from households. Skills surveys (ICT, literacy, etc.) can also provide relevant
information on the adult population. Learning assessments can be used to provide
non-cognitive information as well, such as on home language, school infrastructure,
students experiencing bullying, and teachers’ professional development.
• Financial and expenditure data contain information on different sources of income and
expenditure, including government spending on education. This source commonly
encompasses data on the construction and maintenance of schools, teacher salaries
and household spending on education, such as supplies, transport and other costs.
Some administrative data are typically available from non-EMIS sources within
ministries but should ideally be linked to EMIS (e.g., school feeding programmes and
teacher salaries), depending on how a country organizes their data.
• Population data are crucial for providing estimates of the number of persons by age
and sex in a country. As of the September 2023 Data Release, the UIS has implemented
a hybrid population data policy. Under this policy, population estimates from the
United Nations Population Division (UNPD) are used but countries that are interested
can have these estimates replaced by their national population data, provided they
meet a set of pre-defined data quality standards.

In addition to data sources, the production of international education statistics also relies on
a multitude of data producers or donors. Figure 2 illustrates the data producers and data
sources for the SDG 4 global and thematic indicators. Take the indicator on out-of-school rate
(SDG 4.1.4) as an example. This indicator can be produced using both administrative and survey
data. Consequently, some countries might choose to rely on one data source over the other.
At the global level, this necessitates combining data sources to monitor trends, an area in
which the UIS and the Global Education Monitoring Report have made significant progress.

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Some SDG 4 indicators require the utilization of multiple data sources for their production.
Take SDG indicator 4.5.4 as an example. This indicator pertains to expenditure on education
per student by level of education and source of funding. The production of this indicator
requires data on expenditure on education by sources of funding, e.g. public or various levels
of government, and private or households, which are compiled by ministries or departments
of finance and national statistical offices. At the same time, it requires data on school
enrolment, which can come from EMIS or surveys.

Figure 2. Mapping of Data Source, Data Type, and SDG 4 Indicators

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 4. Overview of data availability
for SDG 4 indicators
Table 1 provides an overview of the data availability for the SDG 4 indicators. As can be seen,
the indicators with relatively high-country coverage include:

• SDG 4.1.6, on the administration of a nationally representative learning assessment, is

reported for 236 countries, covering data from 2014 to 2024.
• SDG 4.1.4, measuring out-of-school children and including sex, location (urban/rural),
wealth, and disability as dimensions of disaggregation, is reported for 219 countries,
with data available from 1970 to 2024.
• SDG 4.7.3, measuring the mainstreaming of green policy intentions in national
curriculum documents, is being reported for the first time in 2023 and includes data for
110 countries.
• SDG 4.1.1, measuring learning outcomes of children and young people and including
dimensions such as sex, school location (urban/rural), socio-economic status (SES),
immigrant status, and language of the test at home, is reported for 148 countries, with
data available from 1995 to 2023.
• SDG 4.1.3, measuring the gross intake ratio to the last grade of primary and secondary
education for girls and boys, is reported for 214 countries, with data available from 1970
to 2024.

On the other hand, some indicators have relatively low data coverage, including:

• SDG 4.4.2, measuring youth/adults with minimum proficiency level of digital literacy
skills, is reported for only 31 countries with data available from 2012 to 2017.
• SDG 4.7.4, measuring the proportion of lower secondary students showing adequate
understanding of issues relating to global citizenship and sustainability, is reported
only for 32 countries with data available from 2016 to 2022.
• SDG 4.7.5, measuring the proficiency in knowledge of students in lower secondary
showing proficiency in knowledge of environmental science and geoscience, is reported
for 42 countries with data available from 2015 to 2019.
• SDG 4.c.5, indicator on teacher salary relative to other professions, is reported only for
68 countries with data available from 2000 to 2023.

6
 • SDG 4.7.1, measuring the extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii)
education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education
policies, (b) curricula, (c) teacher education and (d) student assessment, is reported for
70 countries with data available for 2020.
These highlights demonstrate the significant progress made by countries and international
development partners in producing indicators on high-priority education issues, while also
revealing substantial gaps that still exist.

Table 1. Summary of education SDG indicators data dimensions released

Indicator description
Is the indicator Total number of Range of years
Indicator being reported countries for which for which data
Dimensions of disaggregation
for the first the indicator is are available for
time? (Y/N) reported the indicator
FFA No 206 1970-2024 .
1.a.2 No 203 1980-2025 .
4.1.0 No 125 1995-2023 Sex
Sex, school location (urban/rural), socio-
4.1.1 No 148 1995-2023 economic status (SES), immigrant status,
language of the test at home
Sex, location (urban/rural), wealth and
4.1.2 No 173 1990-2024
disability
4.1.3 No 214 1970-2024 Sex
Sex, location (urban/rural), wealth and
4.1.4 No 219 1970-2024
disability
4.1.5 No 205 1998-2024 Sex, location (urban/rural), wealth
4.1.6 No 236 2014-2024 Subject (reading/mathematics)
4.1.7 No 214 1975-2024 Free and compulsory education
4.2.1 No 90 2010-2023 Sex
4.2.2 No 207 1998-2024 Sex, location (urban/rural), wealth
4.2.3 No 89 2005-2019 Sex, location (urban/rural), wealth
4.2.4 No 207 1970-2025 Sex
4.2.5 No 215 1975-2024 Free and compulsory education
4.3.1 No 167 1976-2024 Age, sex
4.3.2 No 213 1970-2025 Sex, location (urban/rural), wealth
4.3.3 No 202 1970-2025 Sex
4.4.1 No 114 2002-2023 ICT skills, sex
4.4.2 No 31 2012-2017 Sex
4.4.3 No 212 1970-2024 Sex, location (urban/rural)
Sex, location (urban/rural), wealth and
4.5.1 No 222 1970-2025
disability

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 Indicator description
Is the indicator Total number of Range of years
Indicator being reported countries for which for which data
Dimensions of disaggregation
for the first the indicator is are available for
time? (Y/N) reported the indicator
Sex, location (urban/rural), SES
4.5.2 No 137 2012-2023
(wealthiest/poorest)
4.5.3 No 81 2020-2020 .
4.5.4 No 204 1970-2023 .
4.5.5 No 44 2010-2023 .
Source of funding (public, private –
4.5.6 No 208 1970-2023 households; other private entities-,
international -ODA; non-ODA-)
4.6.1 No 41 2006-2017 Sex, SES, native status
4.6.2 No 181 1970-2023 Sex, location (urban/rural)
4.7.1 No 70 2020-2020 .
4.7.2 No 95 2000-2024 .
4.7.3 Yes 110 2023-2023
4.7.4 No 32 2016-2022 Sex, SES, location (urban/rural)
4.7.5 No 42 2015-2019 Sex, SES, location (urban/rural)
4.a.1 No 200 2000-2024 .
Sex, location (urban/rural), SES
4.a.2 No 155 2003-2023
(wealthiest/poorest)
4.a.3 No 106 2013-2023 .
4.b.1 No 150 2006-2023 .
4.c.1 No 168 1998-2024 Sex
4.c.2 No 168 1970-2024 .
4.c.3 No 161 1999-2024 Sex
4.c.4 No 162 1970-2024 .
4.c.5 No 68 2000-2023 .
4.c.6 No 108 2011-2024 Sex
4.c.7 No 98 2013-2023 Sex

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 5. Highlights of the data refresh
5.1 Updates to indicator reporting
• SDG 4 indicators:
o SDG 4.7.3: Added for the first time.
o SDG 4.4.1: Expanded to include more ICT skills. All the indicator codes have
been updated.

• OPRI indicators:
o Enrolment in private institutions: Added 27 data points.
o Inbound internationally mobile students: Added 692 data points.
o Net flow of internationally mobile students: Added 6 data points.
o Outbound internationally mobile students: Added 36 data points.
o Outbound mobility ratio: Added 27 data points.
o Share of students in general/vocational programmes: Added 30 data points.

5.2 Analysis of data expansion

The UIS has added 808,330 national data points to its database, increasing the total by 19%. Of
these, 21% are SDG indicators and 79% are OPRI indicators. The notable growth in the OPRI
database is primarily due to the publication of more indicators, as detailed in subsection 5.1
“Updates to Indicator Reporting”. The SDG database saw an increase of 172,789 data points,
largely driven by SDG indicator 4.4.1 (accounting for 72% of this growth, including its parity
index—PI) thanks to an expanded database of ICT skills data. SDG indicator 4.1.4 contributed
an additional 10% of the increase (including PI) due to newly available modelled data, UIS and
ECLAC data based on surveys. Regarding the reference years for the added data points, the
majority were from 2023 (10%), with the remaining years between 2013 and 2022 contributing
6% to 8% each.

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 6. UIS surveys on education
The UIS collects education statistics in aggregate form from official administrative sources at
the national level. Collected information encompasses data on the structure of national
educational programmes, access, participation, progression, completion, teacher’s statutory
compensation, school infrastructure, literacy, educational attainment, and human and
financial resources. These statistics cover formal education in public (or state) and private
institutions (early childhood education, primary and secondary schools, and colleges,
universities and other tertiary education institutions), and special needs education (both in
regular and special schools).

These data are gathered annually by the UIS and its partner agencies through the following
three major surveys which can be downloaded from the UIS website at
http://uis.unesco.org/en/uis–questionnaires.

6.1 UIS Survey of Formal Education

The UIS Survey of Formal Education is sent annually to 163 UNESCO Member States. The
questionnaires are based on international standards, classifications, and measures that are
regularly reviewed and modified by the UIS to address emerging statistical issues and improve
data quality.

The Survey comprises the following six questionnaires:

UIS/ED/ISC11: National Education Systems. This questionnaire collects information on the

national education programmes and their classifications according to the 2011 revision of the
International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED 2011).

UIS/ED/A: Students and Teachers (ISCED 0–4). This questionnaire collects internationally
comparable data on formal education at the early childhood, primary, secondary and post-
secondary non-tertiary levels, necessary for the evaluation and monitoring of education
systems worldwide. The data collected include the number of students disaggregated by

10
education level, by type of institution, programme orientation, sex, age, and grade; and data
on classroom teachers by level of education and by training and qualification status, as well
as their statutory salaries. The questionnaire also collects data on the number of schools with
ICT services, basic hygiene facilities and the provisioning of life skills–based HIV and sexuality,
as well as the number of schools with adapted infrastructures and materials for students with
disabilities.

UIS/ED/B: Educational Expenditure (ISCED 0–8). This questionnaire collects internationally

comparable expenditure data on formal education from early childhood to tertiary education.
Data are disaggregated by source of funding (government, international and private),
destination of funding, by level of education, and by type of transaction and nature of
expenditure.

UIS/ED/C: Students and Teachers (ISCED 5–8). This questionnaire collects internationally
comparable data on tertiary education. The data collected include the number of students by
level of education, sex, and age; and the number of graduates by level of education and field
of education. The questionnaire also collects information on the number of academic staff and
the number of internationally mobile students.

UIS/TEACH on Teacher Qualifications. This questionnaire collects data on teacher

qualifications to report on indicator 4.c.1 as per the new global standard. Approved by the
TCD/EDSC in its 10th post-meeting consultation report in February 2024, this data collection
gathers information on teachers' highest educational qualifications, categorized by their
teaching level. The questionnaire also includes metadata on national definitions of qualified
teachers (from 2015). The UIS plans to incorporate these indicators in future data releases.

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UIS/DEM on Population. This is an optional questionnaire allowing Member States to submit
their national population data to be used for the calculation of international population-based
education indicators. 2

The UIS also provides technical guidance materials to support countries for quality data
reporting.

Together, the questionnaires enable the production of a comprehensive set of education

indicators, including twenty-one SDG 4 global and thematic indicators, informing SDG targets
4.1- 4.3, 4.5, 4.7, 4.a, and 4.c as well as two global education finance indicators.

The UIS survey also includes (since 1993) the jointly administered UIS, OECD, and Eurostat (UOE)
data collection, gathering more detailed statistics from high- and middle-income OECD and
Eurostat member/partner countries

The UIS survey of formal education also includes the UIS, OECD, and Eurostat (UOE) data
collection, which has been jointly administered annually since 1993. The UOE questionnaires
compile data from high- and middle-income countries that are generally members or partner
countries of the OECD or Eurostat. The UOE survey gathers more detailed education statistics.

2
Technical Note: National Population Data: Criteria for use in indicator calculation by the UIS

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Figure 3. UIS Survey of Formal Education and SDG 4 Monitoring

All questionnaires and supporting resources for the Survey of Formal Education are available
at: https://uis.unesco.org/uis-questionnaires.

Table 2. UIS Survey of Formal Education: list of tables by questionnaire

ISCED: National Education System QA: Students and teachers (ISCED 0-4) QB: Education Expenditures (ISCED 0-8) QC: Students and teachers (ISCED 5-8)
T1: Education Programs A1: Information on the academic school year B2: Actual expenditure on ed. by level/source C2: Number of students by level
T2: Free and compulsory education A2: Numbers of students by level B3: Actual expenditure on ed. by level/nature C5: Number of students by age
A3: Numbers of student by level/age C6: Number of mobile students
A5: Numbers of students primary, age/grade C7: Number of graduates by level/field
A6: Numbers of students lower sec., age/grade C8: Number of academic staff, by level and sex
A9: Number of teachers by level
A10: Number of trained and qualified teachers by level
A10-Metadata
A11: Teacher salary
A12: Number of institutions by level
A13: Number of institutions with basic services

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Table 3. SDG 4 Indicators calculated from data collected through the UIS Survey of Formal Education, by
questionnaire and table

Table 4. OPRI Indicators calculated from data collected through the UIS Survey of Formal Education, by
questionnaire and table
ISCED QA QB QC
OTHER POLICY RELEVANT INDICATORS
T1 A1 A2 A3 A5 A6 A9 B2 B3 C2 C6 C7 C8
Number of teachers + +
% of female teachers + +
School life expectancy + +
Number of international mobile students +
Inbound and outbound rates of international mobile students + +
Number of students + + +
Enrolment rates + + + +
Graduation ratio, tertiary education + +
% of tertiary graduates by field of education +
Repetition rate + +
Number of OOS children and adolescents + + +
Public education expenditure by nature +
% of students by programme orientation +
% enrolment in private institutions +
Government expenditure in education (amount) +
Survival rate + +
School age population +
Start and end of academic school year +

NEW OR UPDATED SDG 4 AND OPRI INDICATORS VALUES ADDED TO THIS DATA RELEASE

The data points contributed by the Education Section to the September 2024 data release
include new or updated indicator values from administrative data sources for 192 countries,
resulting in improvement of data coverage of these countries on six global and 14 thematic
SDG 4 indicators, as well as 16 Other Policy Relevant Indicators (OPRI). Including disaggregation
by gender, age, and location, as well as parity indices for relevant indicators, a total of 73,632
data points have been added or updated. Of these, 3,908 data points improved the monitoring

14
of SDG global indicators, 17,522 of SDG thematic indicators, and 52,202 for OPRI. The majority
of the updates have been done for the two most recent school years with reported data:
2021/2022 and 2022/2023. Around 55% of SDG 4-related and 68% of OPRI updates are for these
two years.

This data release also reflects ongoing work on the International Standard Classification of

Education as ISCED 2011 mappings have been updated and used in the calculation of cross-

nationally comparable education indicators. To this day, a total of 201 countries have their

ISCED 2011 mapping finalized and published by the UIS. Along with the ISCED 2011

mappings, new or updated ISCED diagrams for up to 70 countries have also been published.

6.2 UIS Survey on Literacy and Educational Attainment

The UIS gathers attainment data through its biennial literacy and educational attainment
survey which is sent to 131 3 UNESCO countries. The questionnaires collect internationally
comparable data used to calculate literacy and attainment rates as well as mean years of
schooling. The data are derived from national population censuses and sample household
surveys, including labour force surveys.

The UIS supplements literacy and educational attainment data provided by countries by
calculating indicators based on information obtained from population censuses and
international household survey programmes such as the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey
(MICS) and the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS). The UIS also applies methodologies,
such as the Global Age-specific Literacy Projections Model (GALP), to produce literacy
estimates for years with missing data and to produce regional and global averages.

3
Data are also produced for an additional 72 countries (not surveyed) for which UIS, and partners
agencies estimate indicators from available microdata. These 72 countries include 35 in Europe and
North America and 37 in Latin America and the Caribbean.

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For this Data Release, 1720 new or updated values have been contributed by the 2023 UIS
Survey on Literacy and Educational attainment. These include 540 data points for educational
attainment (SDG 4.4.3) by age group, 576 data points for adult literacy (SDG 4.6.2) and 640 new
or updated OPRI data points. This data release further improves the global capacity and
comparison to monitor the SDG 4 agenda and in education in general with new or updated
data points.

16
 7. Multi-year dynamic templates
In 2021, the UIS started implementing an innovative approach to collect administrative and
finance education data based on entering publicly available raw data into dynamic templates
that automatically produce the related 30 indicators: 18 SDG 4 indicators and 12 OPRI
indicators, in other words, 28 indicators on students, graduates, teachers, and schools, and 2
indicators on education expenditure.

This process allows countries to directly validate the indicators instantly generated and check
their consistency over time. It also enables them to immediately view what indicators are
missing, what data are needed to produce them and then to work on filling these data gaps.
The templates are an excellent tool for capacity-building as they present the methodology of
calculation of each indicator in detail, increasing countries’ ownership of the produced data
and indicators.

An interesting feature of the templates is that they offer countries the possibility of calculating
population-based indicators either by using UNPD population or national population. They
also let countries compare the indicators produced by the template with the ones previously
published by the UIS. Finally, metadata collected in the templates may serve as a basis for a
comprehensive inventory of all publicly available national publications and data sources.

7.1 Dynamic templates, workflows and data points produced

ADMINISTRATIVE DATA TEMPLATE

The template collects data for 16 years (2010 to 2025) on students, teachers and schools. It is
automatically prefilled with population data from UNPD, ISCED mapping data on the national
education system (theoretical entrance age and duration of the national education
programmes), and with indicator figures available at the UIS for comparison purposes.
Indicators are automatically calculated with the indicator formulas embedded in the template.

17
The template includes the following:

• Metadata sheet: It presents the definition, calculation method and formula, and data
required for every indicator; allows the comparison of UIS published indicators with
the ones produced in the template from national data; and enables the selection of the
source of population data (UNPD or national).
• Data source sheet: It compiles the names and links of all the national publications from
which data were extracted and used to populate the template.
• Six sheets to collect students’ data for each level of education from early childhood to
tertiary education: data are disaggregated by age and sex in all sheets; the sheets on
primary and secondary general programmes also include data disaggregated by grade
and data on repeaters.
• A sheet to collect internationally mobile students’ data for tertiary education: data are
disaggregated by country of origin and sex
• A sheet to collect graduates’ data for tertiary education: data are disaggregated by field
of education and sex
• A sheet to collect teachers’ data from pre-primary to upper secondary education: data
are disaggregated by sex and status of teachers, including trained, qualified (according
to national standards), qualified (according to international standards – ISCED 6 and
higher), and newly recruited.
• A sheet to collect data on basic services in schools from primary to upper secondary
education: electricity, internet and computers for pedagogical purposes, infrastructure
and materials for students with disabilities, basic drinking water, single-sex basic
sanitation facilities, basic handwashing facilities and life skills-based HIV and sexuality
education.
• Two sheets with population data (national sources and UNPD): In the same sheets, the
school-age population is calculated based on the population data and the national
education system data (age of entry into a level, duration of level) should the country
be interested in inputs their own national population estimates.
• Twenty-eight sheets which contain the embedded formulas for the calculation of SDG
4 and OPRI indicators.

FINANCE DATA TEMPLATE

The finance template collects data for 16 years (2010 to 2025) on government expenditure on
education and total government expenditure. The template is prefilled with GDP data from the
World Bank and with indicator figures available at the UIS for comparison purposes. Indicators
are automatically calculated with the indicator formulas embedded in the template. The

18
template allows the calculation of two indicators: Proportion of total government spending on
essential services (education) (SDG 1.a.2); and Government expenditure on education as a
percentage of GDP (Education 2030 Framework for Action).

In addition to a metadata sheet, the template includes two data sheets – Revised
estimates/budget and Actual expenditure, with data disaggregated by level of education and
source of funding. It is enough to provide data for only two data points in this sheet to get the
indicators: Total government expenditure on all sectors (including education) and total
government expenditure on education. The information is presented for all levels of education
combined from early childhood to tertiary and for all levels of government combined – central,
regional, and local. The data can be provided based on the revised estimates/budget or actual
expenditure. The sheet enables comparison between the indicators produced and the ones
published by the UIS.

Tables 5 and 6 present the SDG 4 and OPRI indicators and variables in the administrative data
and finance templates.

Table 5. SDG 4 indicators and variables in the administrative data and finance data templates
Finance
Variables Administrative data template data
for SDG template
indicators 4.c.1. 4.c.2. %
4.1.3 4.1.4 4.1.5 4.2.2 4.2.4 4.3.2 4.3.3 4.7.2 4.a.1 4.c.1 4.c.2 4.c.3 4.c.4 4.c.6 1.a.2
new* new* GDP
National x x
education x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
system
Population
x x x x x x
data
Enrolment x
x x x x x x x x x
by sex
Enrolment
x x x x x
by age
Enrolment
x x
by grade
Repeaters by
x
sex and grade
Teachers
x x x
by sex
Trained
teachers x x
by sex
Qualified
teachers x x
according

19
 Finance
Variables Administrative data template data
for SDG template
indicators 4.c.1. 4.c.2. %
4.1.3 4.1.4 4.1.5 4.2.2 4.2.4 4.3.2 4.3.3 4.7.2 4.a.1 4.c.1 4.c.2 4.c.3 4.c.4 4.c.6 1.a.2
new* new* GDP
to national
standards
by sex
Qualified x x
teachers
according to
international
standards
by sex
Newly recruited
teachers x
by sex
Schools by type
x x
of facility
Educational
x x
expenditure
Total
government x
expenditure
Gross domestic
x
product (GDP)

The definition of qualified teachers according to international standards refers to teachers

with the minimum required qualifications of ISCED 6 or above, which approved by the TCG as
the international standards.

20
Table 6. OPRI indicators and variables in the administrative data template

Administrative data template

Variables for
OPRI Distribution
School Gradu- Percen-
indicators Gross Total net Out-of- of enrolment Number Sur-
Number of Repeti- life ates Number of tage of
enrolment enrolment school by of vival
students tion rate expect- from teachers female
ratio rate children programme repeaters rate
ancy STEM teachers
orientation
National x x x x x
education x x X x x x x
system
Population x
x X x
data
Enrolment x x x
x x X x x
by sex
Enrolment x x
by grade
Enrolment x
X x
by age

Enrolment by
programme x
orientation

Repeaters x x x
by sex
Repeaters x x x
by grade
Graduates x
by sex
Graduates by x
field of
education
Teachers
x x
by sex

21
Template workflows

The following workflows are implemented to produce globally comparable data:

1. Design and development of the two dynamic templates.

2. Completion of both templates with data and metadata published by countries.
3. Production of a database with data and metadata for all covered countries.
4. Creation of repositories for the official data sources available at the country level:
o Repository of education expenditure reports:
https://tcg.uis.unesco.org/data-resources/repository-education-budgets/
o Repository of education indicators report:
https://tcg.uis.unesco.org/data-resources/repository-education-indicators/
5. Curation of compiled data to remove outliers.

Data points from the templates

Tables 7 and 8 show the number of data points for SDG 4 indicators and OPRI by SDG region
derived from the templates. These data points are included in the September 2024 data release
additional to the data produced with the data collected through the UIS Survey of Formal
Education.

22
Table 7. Number of data points for SDG 4 indicators by region derived from the administrative data and finance data templates
SDG 4 indicators
Finance data
Administrative data template
SDG Region template

4.1.3 4.1.4 4.1.5 4.2.2 4.2.4 4.3.2 4.3.3 4.5.6 4.7.2 4.a.1 4.c.1 4.c.2 4.c.3 4.c.4 4.c.6 % GDP 1.a.2

Asia (Eastern
and South- 583 1340 471 230 909 261 135 39 90 867 845 248 720 216 285 100 74
eastern)
Asia
(Central and 599 1388 558 213 855 330 141 58 839 994 276 650 194 152 113 56
Southern)
Africa
(sub- 785 2532 765 276 1414 291 1 39 678 656 202 652 216 91 285 261
Saharan)

Oceania 353 773 397 115 883 102 45 553 316 89 375 108 75 95 91

Latin
America
156 495 302 50 630 140 51 69 505 287 77 113 27 195 213
and the
Caribbean
Northern
America 7 21 15 29 30
and Europe
Northern
Africa and 15 6 53 54
Western Asia
World 2476 6550 2493 884 4718 1139 327 40 301 3442 3098 892 2510 761 603 870 779

23
Table 8. Number of data points for OPRI by region from the administrative data template
Other Policy Relevant Indicators (OPRI)

Distribution Gov. exp. on

SDG of education
Gross Number Number Number Out-of- Percentage Graduates Total net
Region enrolment Repetition School life Survival as a % of
enrolment of of of school of female from enrolment
by rate expectancy rate GDP (by
ratio students teachers repeaters children teachers STEM rate
programme education
orientation level)
Asia
(Eastern
and 859 2884 2970 1293 4367 3140 1398 421 2916 708 828 423
South-
eastern)
Asia
(Central
847 2884 3060 1378 4568 3153 1459 427 2908 740 872 388
and
Southern)
Africa
(sub- 1219 3251 4118 1448 8116 5756 2583 472 3229 41 1028 1523 270
Saharan)
Oceania 638 1464 2019 531 3061 1817 848 164 1530 296 453 153
Latin
America
785 1533 2109 563 2096 1777 519 152 1701 323 252 326
and the
Caribbean
Northern
America
115 377 290 41 111 127 13 12 341 10 62
and
Europe
Africa
(Northern)
28 50 52 8 36 34 14 12 17
and Asia
(Western)
World 4491 12443 14618 5262 22355 15804 6834 1648 12637 41 3095 3955 1622

24
7.2 Templates validation
The administration of the new education templates has been continued and the countries that
have validated their data through them are:

• Asia and the Pacific (27 out of 30 countries having received Dynamic Templates):
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India (for March, 2024 data release), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan (Central and Southern Asia); Brunei
Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia,
Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam (Eastern and South-Eastern
Asia); Fiji, Federal States of Micronesia, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Island, Tonga, Vanuatu
( Pacific).
• Sub-Saharan Africa (11 out of 15 countries having received Dynamic Templates):
Botswana, Comoros, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Sierra Leone, The
Gambia, United Republic of Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
• Latin America and the Caribbeans (7 out 8 countries having received the Dynamic
Templates): Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Monserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent
and the Grenadines, Suriname, Turks and Caicos.
It is necessary that the data input into the templates through data mining and data provided
by country focal points are validated properly with countries. In this regard, a UIS team
carefully reviewed the templates submitted by the countries and checked the consistency of
the data with historical data and metadata. In addition, the team also ran a series of data
checks to ensure data quality and validity. Based on this validation process, a review report
was prepared with detailed comments and suggestions on the data provided and sent to the
countries to provide more data and explanation, including data sources, reference documents,
and available metadata at the national level, as pointed out in the review.

Countries reviewed the report and provided additional data and information. At least one
follow-up meeting was organized to review the updated data and statistics in the template.
Based on the discussion, countries provided additional data, revised previous submissions
and information, and finalized the template in consultation with their senior officials.

The UIS Regional Field Network is crucial for an efficient and quality validation process. During
the validation process, UIS field offices worked closely with country focal points to compile
data from various sources and ensure the data provided are accurate and valid. UIS field

25
offices were regularly in touch with country focal points through various channels to support
completion of the templates and their validation. The UIS validation process is presented in
Annex 1.

Overall, the use of UIS dynamic templates offers numerous benefits, including improved
efficiency, accuracy, and capacity building of the member states. It's encouraging to see the
interest and efforts to expand their use among countries, with the UIS Regional
Network’s facilitated processes.

26
 8. Household surveys
8.1 UIS produced indicators
The UIS processes household survey and census data to produce disaggregated estimates for
a variety of SDG 4 and other policy relevant indicators. These indicators include:

• SDG indicator 4.1.2: Completion rate (primary education, lower secondary education,
upper secondary education).
• SDG indicator 4.1.4: Out-of-school rate (primary education, lower secondary education,
upper secondary education).
• SDG Indicator 4.1.5: Percentage of children over-age for grade (primary education, lower
secondary education).
• SDG indicator 4.2.2: Participation rate in organized learning (one year before the official
primary entry age), by sex.
• SDG Indicator 4.3.2: Gross enrolment ratio for tertiary education, by sex.
• SDG Indicator 4.4.3: Educational attainment rates by level of education
• SDG Indicator 4.5.1: Parity indices (female/male, rural/urban, bottom/top wealth
quintile and others such as disability status, indigenous peoples and conflict-affected,
as data become available) for all education indicators on this list that can be
disaggregated.
• SDG Indicator 4.6.2: Youth/adult literacy rates
• OPRI Indicator: Total Net Attendance Rates, by level of education.
• OPRI Indicator: Mean years of schooling.

Indicators are disaggregated by sex, rural/urban location, and household wealth where data
allows.

Table 9. Summary indicator coverage for UIS internal HHS production

Region Datapoints added since September 2024 Total datapoints

Central and Southern Asia 2587 42185

Eastern and South-Eastern Asia 652 29201
Europe and Northern America 290 17442
Latin America and the Caribbean 426 39231

27
 Northern Africa and Western Asia 5988 33936
Oceania 1646 9977
Sub-Saharan Africa 3379 164700
Total 14968 336672

8.2 Household survey datasets aggregated from partners

Two data sets are produced by partners and aggregated in the UIS database: the data set from
ECLAC and the data set from the GEM Report.

8.2.1 ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean)

The indicators below produced by ECLAC based on household surveys were aggregated in the
database 4:

• SDG Indicator 4.1.2: Completion rate (primary education, lower secondary education,
upper secondary education).
• SDG Indicator 4.1.4: Out-of-school rate (one year before primary, primary education,
lower secondary education, upper secondary education).
• SDG Indicator 4.1.5: Percentage of children over-age for grade (primary education and
lower secondary education).
• SDG Indicator 4.2.2: Participation rate in organized learning (one year before the official
primary entry age), by sex.
• SDG Indicator 4.3.1: Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal
education and training in the previous 12 months, by sex
• SDG Indicator 4.3.2: Gross enrolment ratio for tertiary education, by sex.
• SDG Indicator 4.4.3: Youth/adult educational attainment rates by age group and level
of education.
• SDG Indicator 4.6.2: Youth/adult literacy rate.
• OPRI indicator ‘Total Net Attendance Rate’.

4
For more details see https://tcg.uis.unesco.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/02/Calculation-
of-education-indicators_HHS_Report-UNESCO-UIS-13122023.pdf.

28
Indicators are disaggregated by sex, income quintiles, urban and rural areas, and include the
corresponding parity indexes for the respective dimensions.

NOTE ON COMPARABILITY OF DATA FOR 2020

Surveys collected in 2020 were subject to special conditions for the data collection, due to the
pandemic and the restrictions that it implied for mobility and face-to-face interviews. During
this period, most countries were able to implement the surveys using telephone interviews but
faced changes in the survey sample and higher non-response rates or used modified
questionnaires. These changes may affect the comparability of data with previous years.

Some examples include:

• Bolivia: Change in the way of collecting information on school attendance. Also,

increased the number of observations of missing data.
• Colombia: March and April have fewer observations in attendance and level of
education than last year.
• El Salvador: This survey did not collect information between April and June.

8.2.2 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report

The indicators below were aggregated in the UIS database 5:

• SDG Indicator 4.1.2: Completion rate (primary education, lower secondary education,
upper secondary education).
• SDG Indicator 4.1.4: Out-of-school rate (primary education, lower secondary education,
upper secondary education).
• SDG Indicator 4.1.5: Percentage of children over-age for grade (primary education).
• SDG Indicator 4.2.2: Participation rate in organized learning (one year before the official
primary entry age), by sex.

5
Data are downloaded from the World Inequality Database on Education website
(https://www.education-inequalities.org/), consulted in January 2024

29
 • SDG Indicator 4.3.2: Gross attendance ratio for tertiary education.
• SDG Indicator 4.4.3: Educational Attainment
• SDG Indicator 4.6.2: Youth/adult literacy rate.
Table 10 below provides an overview of data coverage from ECLAC and GEM Report databases.

Table 10. Summary of ECLAC and GEMR indicators coverage

Source Countries
Indicators
ECLAC GEMR (#)
2000-2023 1999-2022 128
SDG 4 4.1.2
2000-2023 2000-2022 94
SDG 4 4.1.4
2000-2023 2000-2022 104
SDG 4 4.1.5
2000-2023 2005-2022 53
SDG 4 4.2.2
2000-2023 6
SDG 4 4.3.1
2000-2023 2006-2022 62
SDG 4 4.3.2
2000-2023 18
SDG 4 4.4.3
2000-2023 2000-2023 103
SDG 4 4.6.2
2000-2023 18
OPRI Total Net Attendance Ratio

8.3 Indicator 4.3.1

SDG Indicator 4.3.1 is calculated by the UIS based on the household-based survey data
compiled by the Department of Statistics of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which
maintains a global database on national Labour Force Surveys or other relevant household
surveys covering the labour market. Additionally, ECLAC has started calculating the indicator
for the UIS. The ILO database contains information on educational attendance of the working-
age population aged 15 years and above, disaggregated by sex and by four main age groups:
15-24 years old, 25-54 years old, 55-64 years old, and 64 years and above. The variable of
interest, educational attendance, classifies the working-age population into three mutually
exclusive and exhaustive groups: (1) attending school; (2) not attending; (3) not elsewhere
classified. SDG Indicator 4.3.1 is calculated for the age group 15-64 since the educational
attendance estimates for most countries are zero for the age group 65 years and above. Table
11 shows the number of data points for Indicator 4.3.1 available for each SDG region. From UIS
September 2024 Data Release to February 2025, the number of new data points increased by

30
5%. These new data points include the participation rate in formal and non-formal education
by sex (total, female, male) and do not include the adjusted gender parity index, which are
under indicator 4.5.1.

From 2010 to 2025, there are 166 countries with reliable SDG Indicator 4.3.1 estimates. The data
sources for SDG Indicator 4.3.1 are Labor Force Surveys (LFS), Household Income and
Expenditure Surveys (HIS), Household Surveys (HS), and the Population Censuses.

Table 11. Number of SDG 4.3.1 data points added for the period 2010–2025 by SDG region
New data points added
Total data points for SDG % of new data points
(comparison between
SDG region Indicator 4.3.1 (from Sept. 2024 to
Sept. 2024 and Febr.
for the period 2010 to 2025* Febr. 2025)
2025)
Central and Southern Asia 15 743 2%
Eastern and South-Eastern Asia 15 1214 1%
Europe and Northern America 343 6195 6%
Latin America and the Caribbean 108 2919 4%
Northern Africa and Western Asia 102 1266 8%
Oceania 34 446 8%
Sub-Saharan Africa 99 1743 6%
Total 716 14526 5%

*Note: the number of data points refers to reliable estimates

8.4 Indicator 4.4.3

The SDG Indicator 4.4.3 measures the Youth/adult educational attainment rates by age group
and level of education. This indicator in the UIS database is presented for the population aged
25 years and above, disaggregated by sex, and when data are available, by urban and rural
areas and wealth quintiles. The LFS is the most common data source for information on
educational attainment LFS data. Other household-based surveys providing data on
educational attainment are household income and expenditure surveys, general household
surveys, DHS, MICS, and Census data.

For the current data release, the UIS has extended the data sources producing the indicator
using the ILO repository on educational attainment by ISCED-11 levels, sex and/or urban and
rural disaggregation. Table 12 shows the number of new SDG indicator 4.4.3 data points added

31
in the UIS database by SDG region. For this data refresh, the UIS has increased the number of
data points by 3%, without counting the parity indexes. Additionally, there are 5 new countries
with data added to the UIS database (from 195 to 200 countries).

Table 12. Number of SDG 4.4.3 data points added for the period 2010–2025 by SDG region

New data points added Total data points for SDG Share of new data points
SDG region (comparison between Indicator 4.4.3 for the (from Sep. 2024 and Feb.
Sep. 2024 and Feb. 2025) period 2010 to 2023* 2025)

Central and Southern Asia -327 5653 -6%

Eastern and South-Eastern Asia 119 9424 1%

Europe and Northern America 1742 38008 5%

Latin America and the Caribbean 569 19858 3%

Northern Africa and Western Asia 353 9875 4%

Oceania 217 3654 6%

Sub-Saharan Africa 575 15381 4%

Total 3248 101853 3%

*Note: the number of data points refers to reliable estimates and all ISCED levels by sex.

32
 9. Learning assessments and
integration of data sources
Some national values are calculated/compiled by the UIS and/or its partners from learning
assessments while other data sources are flagged with footnotes to identify the data sources
in the UIS database. The indicators calculated and their metadata are:

• SDG Indicator 4.1.0: Proportion of children/young people prepared for the future, by
sex.
• SDG Indicator 4.1.1: Proportion of children and young people (a) in grades 2/3; (b) at the
end of primary; and (c) at the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum
proficiency level in (i) reading and (ii) mathematics, by sex.
• SDG Indicator 4.1.6: Administration of a nationally representative learning assessment
(a) in Grade 2 or 3; (b) at the end of primary education; and (c) at the end of lower
secondary education.
• SDG Indicator 4.2.1: Proportion of children aged 24-59 months who are developmentally
on track in health, learning and psychosocial well-being, by sex.
• SDG Indicator 4.2.3: Percentage of children under 5 years experiencing positive and
stimulating home learning environments.
• SDG Indicator 4.4.1: Proportion of youth and adults with information and
communications technology (ICT) skills, by type of skill.
• SDG Indicator 4.4.2: Percentage of youth/adults who have achieved at least a minimum
level of proficiency in digital literacy skills.
• SDG Indicator 4.5.1: Parity indices (female/male, rural/urban, bottom/top wealth
quintile, and others such as disability status, indigenous peoples and conflict-affected,
as data become available) for all education indicators on this list that can be
disaggregated.
• SDG Indicator 4.5.2: Percentage of students in a) early grades, b) at the end of primary,
and c) at the end of lower secondary education who have their first or home language
as language of instruction.
• SDG Indicator 4.5.3: Existence of funding mechanisms to reallocate education resources
to disadvantaged populations.
• SDG Indicator 4.6.1: Proportion of population in a given age group achieving at least a
fixed level of proficiency in functional (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills, by sex.

33
 • SDG Indicator 4.7.4: Percentage of students in lower secondary education showing
adequate understanding of issues relating to global citizenship and sustainability.
• SDG Indicator 4.7.5: Percentage of students in lower secondary showing proficiency in
knowledge of environmental science and geoscience.
• SDG Indicator 4.a.1: Proportion of schools offering basic services, by type of service.
• SDG Indicator 4.a.2: Percentage of students experiencing bullying in the last 12 months
in a) primary, and b) lower secondary education.
• SDG Indicator 4.c.5: Average teacher salary relative to other professions requiring a
comparable level of qualification.
• SDG Indicator 4.c.7: Percentage of teachers who received in-service training in the last
12 months by type of training.

For more information on the data production cycle of these SDG 4 Indicators, please refer to:
http://tcg.uis.unesco.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2020/08/CN_LOS_DataProduction-.pdf

34
 10. Regional averages in the February
2025 data refresh
Regional averages remain unchanged in the February 2025 data refresh, carrying over the 1990-
2023 time series from the September 2024 release.

The regional estimates are based on the latest SDG, World Bank income groups, and GPE
regional composition. For more details about the current UIS methodology of regional average
calculation, see: https://tcg.uis.unesco.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2020/10/TCG-7-I-2-
UIS-methodology-for-aggregation-of-national-educaiton-data-to-regional-and-global-
estimates.pdf. Regional averages for out-of-school rates (SDG 4.1.4) and number of children
out-of-school are based on estimates produced by the UIS and the GEM Report to harmonize
information from Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) and Household Surveys,
the two main data sources used to produce out-of-school rates. The Technical Cooperation
Group on SDG 4 Indicators (TCG) approved to use the regional averages estimated by this
innovative method. The UIS refreshed the regional averages for SDG 4.1.4 in its SDG 4 data
browser.

The latest estimated rates and numbers of out-of-school by country and by SDG regions are
also accessible on VIEW. The new methodology is outlined in the joint UIS/GEM Report Policy
Paper / Fact Sheet.

Moreover, since 2023, the release included new data on:

• Regional averages for Indicator 4.1.1 in all levels and domains from 2000 to 2019
produced by the UIS team.
• Regional averages for Indicator 4.1.2 aggregated from the GEM Report team from 1990
to 2024 and available at https://education-estimates.org/completion/.
• Regional averages for Indicator 4.1.4 produced by UIS/GEM Report team from 1990 to
2024 and available at https://education-estimates.org/out-of-school/.
• Regional averages for Indicator 4.1.0, or the proportion of children/young people
prepared for the future, from 2000 to 2019, that need regional averages for learning and
completion.

35
• Median for Indicator 1.a.2 from 2000 to 2023 produced based on the TCG decision of
June 2021.
• Regional averages for Indicator 4.3.1 in all levels and domains from 2000 to 2024
produced by the UIS team.

36
 11. External data sets: Indicators
aggregated from partner agencies
11.1 External data sets: Inputs to indicators
The UIS compiles data for some Sustainable Development Goal 4 indicators directly from
partner organizations, such as:

IMF
• SDG Indicator Education 2030 FFA: Government expenditure on education as a
percentage of GDP
• SDG Indicator 1.a.2: Proportion of total government spending on essential services
(education)

OECD
• SDG Indicator 4.5.5: Percentage of total aid to education allocated to least developed
countries.
• SDG Indicator 4.b.1: Volume of official development assistance flows for scholarships
by sector and type of study.

Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack

• SDG Indicator 4.a.3: Number of attacks on students, personnel and institutions.

Global Education Monitoring Report (GEM Report)

• SDG Indicator 4.5.3: Existence of funding mechanisms to reallocate education resources
to disadvantaged populations.

UNESCO Section for Education for Sustainable Development (Division for Peace and
Sustainable Development, Education sector)
• SDG Indicator 4.7.1: Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education
for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b)
curricula; (c) teacher education and (d) student assessment.

37
11.2 External data sets: Inputs to estimate indicators
11.2.1 Continued implementation of a hybrid population data policy

The UIS has continued the implementation of its new population data policy endorsed by the
Technical Cooperation Group (TCG) on SDG 4 indicators in March 2023. The implementation of
the new Policy started with the UIS September 2023 Data Release. Under this new policy,
countries, for which national population data meet a set of pre-defined standard quality
criteria 6, have the possibility to request UIS to use their national population data for the
calculation of their population-based indicators in place of the World Population Prospects
estimates from the United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)
Population Division (UNPD), which remains the default source of population data used by the
UIS.

National Population Data Requirements (Hybrid Policy):

• Complete time series data and metadata from 2000 to 2024.

• Complete sex and age disaggregated data (0-99 age range).
• Data from recognized international organizations or publicly available sources.
Adequate population coverage and representativeness, excluding no more than 5% of
the total population Substantive population subgroups or internationally recognised
geographic regions should not be excluded. Estimates or counts where more than 5%
of the total population is excluded are not eligible for use in calculations.
This hybrid approach enhances national ownership of UIS education statistics, particularly
when national data differs from UNPD estimates.

6
See https://tcg.uis.unesco.org/wp-
content/uploads/sites/4/2022/11/2_WG_EMIS_3_UIS_Population_Data_Note.pdf

38
For this February 2025 data refresh, the source of population estimates from UNDESA
Population Division is the World Population Prospects (WPP) 2024, scenario of 1 January
(https://population.un.org/wpp/).

SOURCES OF POPULATION DATA AND EXCEPTIONAL CASES

The UN Population Division (UNPD) remains the standard source of population data at the UIS.
With the implementation of the hybrid population data policy, the following exceptional cases
are worth mentioning (please also see Table 13):

• Countries that requested the use of their national data and that provided data
complying with the predefined UIS quality requirements.
• Population data by UNPD represent a geographically larger area than education data.
Without adjustment, this would lead to an underestimation of population-based
indicators. Countries in this group include Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Republic of Moldova, and
Serbia.

PROCESS FOR ACCEPTING NATIONAL POPULATION DATA, INSTEAD OF UNPD DATA, FOR USE BY
UIS IN THE CALCULATION OF EDUCATION STATISTICS

Under the new UIS policy of population data, interested countries are invited to complete the
UIS/ED/DEM questionnaire 7 with the requested time series data and metadata and submit it
to the UIS. Countries reported data and metadata needed to comply with the pre-defined
standard criteria for accepting national population data, otherwise the UIS would continue to
use UNPD population estimates.

For this data release, the source of population data used to calculate education indicators are
presented in Table 13, including countries that have submitted data directly to the UIS and
that respected the established acceptance criteria.

7
Please see; https://uis.unesco.org/uis-questionnaires.

39
Table 13. Sources of population data for UIS indicator calculation.
No. of
Source of population data Countries list and comment
countries
United Nations Population 157 The UNPD is the main source of population data used by the UIS for all
Division (UNPD): World countries, except for the countries listed below in this column.
Population Prospect 2024,
released in July 2024
National statistical offices 42 1. Aruba
submitting data directly to the 2. Australia
UIS (through the UIS DEM 3. Azerbaijan
questionnaire) 4. Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
5. Brazil
6. Canada
7. Chile
8. China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
9. China, Macao Special Administrative Region
10. Colombia
11. Costa Rica
12. Curaçao
13. Dominican Republic
14. Ecuador
15. India
16. Israel
17. Japan
18. Jordan
19. Mauritius
20. Mexico
21. New Zealand
22. Niger
23. Oman
24. Qatar
25. Republic of Korea
26. Republic of Moldova
27. Russian Federation
28. Rwanda
29. San Marino
30. Saudi Arabia
31. Serbia
32. Seychelles
33. Singapore
34. Thailand
35. Tonga
36. Türkiye
37. Ukraine
38. United Arab Emirates
39. United States of America
40. Uruguay
41. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
42. Uzbekistan
National data collected by 34 1. Albania
Eurostat 2. Austria
3. Belgium
4. Bulgaria
5. Croatia
6. Cyprus
7. Czechia
8. Denmark
9. Estonia
10. Finland

40
 No. of
Source of population data Countries list and comment
countries
11. France
12. Germany
13. Greece
14. Hungary
15. Iceland
16. Ireland
17. Italy
18. Latvia
19. Liechtenstein
20. Lithuania
21. Luxembourg
22. Malta
23. Montenegro
24. Netherlands (Kingdom of the)
25. North Macedonia
26. Norway
27. Poland
28. Portugal
29. Romania
30. Slovakia
31. Slovenia
32. Spain
33. Sweden
34. Switzerland

*Notes:
- For the following countries this release uses the DEM questionnaires submitted in 2023, as this was the latest
submission received: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Republic of Korea,
and United States of America. For Japan and Mexico, the national population was received in early 2024.
- The following 14 countries reported DEM questionnaires in 2024, but data supplied could not be used
because they did not meet the UIS standard validation criteria 8: Andorra, Angola, Bahrain, Belarus, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Burundi, Congo, Eswatini, Iraq, Monaco, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste.

How is the School Age Population (SAP) distributed by countries where national population is
used and countries where UNPD population is used? Table 14 presents the SAP for the two
groups of countries for 2020, 2021, and 2022 for selected levels of education.

8
See the document “National Population Data: criteria for use in indicator calculation by the UIS”.

41
Table 14. School age population (both sexes) (in millions) for pre-primary, primary, lower secondary,
and upper secondary education by source of population data, 2020 to 2023
Year ISCED 0 ISCED 1 ISCED 2 ISCED 3 ISCED 2t3
2020 472.9 745.5 407.5 394.7 802.2
2021 471.6 751.0 412.5 398.1 810.5
School age population (SAP)
2022 467.6 754.5 418.5 402.2 820.7
2023 446.8 737.7 409.9 394.4 804.3
Of which
2020 180.7 261.6 167.1 178.7 345.7
2021 178.5 260.8 167.5 177.9 345.4
- SAP calculated from national population data
2022 175.3 259.9 168.7 178.2 346.9
2023 123.9 182.0 119.9 134.7 254.6
2020 292.2 483.8 240.5 216.0 456.5
2021 293.1 490.2 245.0 220.1 465.1
- SAP calculated from UNPD population data
2022 292.3 494.6 249.7 224.1 473.8
2023 322.8 555.8 290.0 259.7 549.7
2020 38.2 35.1 41.0 45.3 43.1
2021 37.9 34.7 40.6 44.7 42.6
% of SAP based on national population data
2022 37.5 34.4 40.3 44.3 42.3
2023 27.7 24.7 29.3 34.1 31.7

*Notes: of the 210 countries for which UIS collects education data, national population data were available for 76
countries in 2020, 75 in 2021 and in 2022, and 55 in 2023.

42
 12. Economic statistics
Data on economic indicators, such as gross domestic product (GDP) and purchasing power
parity (PPP), are World Bank estimates as of June 2024. For countries where GDP estimates are
not published by the World Bank 9, data are obtained from national source. Exchange rates
data are sourced from the June 2024 release by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD).
This data release uses the purchasing power parities (PPP) conversion factor, GDP (local
currency unit per international dollar), of the most recent World Bank International
Comparison Program of 2017. Data on total general government expenditure (all sectors) come
from the October 2024 release of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic
Outlook database.

9
Andorra, Bermuda, China, Macao Special Administrative Region, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Monaco,
Nicaragua, Paraguay, Republic of Korea, Tokelau, Turks and Caicos Islands.

43
 13. Methodological notes
for education survey data
13.1 Countries that reported data that could not be released
Table 15 below presents a summary of the number of countries for which data were reported
but not released, grouped by key causes for the Education Surveys.

Table 15. Formal Education Survey – summary of causes preventing the publication of datasets

Issues preventing the publication of parts of datasets recently received for reference
Number of countries
year 2022 or 2023

Trend is not consistent and no explanation available (2) or countries requesting to

8
suppress the data (6)
Inconsistency between population estimate and the submitted enrolment data 1

Coverage issues 1

*Note: the table includes only countries where the data received through is not published. There are new or
updated data being published for 192 countries.

13.2 Methodological notes: Non-finance indicators

Education data and indicators are based on the International Standard Classification of
Education (ISCED) 2011. ISCED 2011 was implemented starting with the 2014 education data
collection and covers the entire formal education system, including both formal initial
education programmes and formal adult education programmes. For the years before 2014,
the UIS Survey of Formal Education did not cover formal adult education programmes. Data
for countries involved in the UOE data collection did not cover formal adult education
programmes for the years 2004–2012. These limitations should be taken into consideration
when comparing time series data.

Prior to 2018, data for SDG Indicator 4.3.3 Participation rate in technical and vocational
programmes (15- to 24-year-olds), by sex do not include enrolment in technical and vocational
short-cycle tertiary programmes (ISCED 5) as the UIS only collected data up to ISCED level 4 –

44
although the indicator covers all technical and vocational programmes. As of 2018, the UIS
started collecting and incorporated enrolment at the ISCED 5 level in the calculation of this
indicator. On average, participation rates are approximately 1.6% higher with inclusion of the
ISCED 5 programmes. Caution is required when comparing this indicator over time.

There are cases where an indicator should not exceed a maximum theoretical value (e.g., the
adjusted net enrolment rate) but inconsistencies between demographic and school data may
have resulted in the indicator exceeding the theoretical limit. In these cases, “capping” has
been applied, while maintaining the same gender ratio. For more details, please refer to the
definition of capping in the UIS Glossary.

Since the September 2020 Data Release, the UIS has replaced all parity indices, including the
gender parity index, by adjusted parity indices. Adjusted parity indices are limited to a range
of 0 to 2, are symmetrical around 1, and are therefore easier to interpret. Unadjusted parity
indices, which were disseminated previously, have no upper bound and are not symmetrical
around 1.

13.3 Methodological notes: Education finance indicators

Expenditure on early childhood education or from international sources – both of which are
often comparatively small – have been treated as negligible in cases where data were in fact
missing. In these cases, the totals may be underestimated.

The number of students considered in the calculation of SDG Indicator 4.5.4 on initial funding
per student is the number of full-time and part-time students.

Following the approval of the TCG and the IAEG-SDG on the new metadata multiple sources
have been used to report for two benchmark indicators, Framework for Action, Government
expenditure on Education as a percentage of GDP; and global Indicator 1.a.2, Government
expenditure on Education as a percentage of Total Government Expenditure. More information
is available in the metadata document.

45
 14. Country notes
Australia: For the reference year 2019, due to several changes introduced in both the data
sources and methodology used to calculate and compile Australia’s Finance collection, it is
not possible to reproduce them in the trend file, resulting in a significant break in series. As a
result of these changes, expenditure data from before the reference year 2020 is not
comparable with previous years’ data.

For the reference years 2020 and 2021, Australia has updated its data sources and revised the
methodology used to compile finance data to incorporate historical revisions. A historical
revision to non-government schools was implemented in Australia's 2020-21 Government
Finance Statistics annual data, resulting in changes of data at International Standard
Classification of Education (ISCED) levels 1, 24, and 34. Non-government schools previously
classified as non-profit institutions serving households have been re-classified to private,
non-financial corporations from 1985. This reclassification also necessitates a change to the
transactions between commonwealth and state governments and non-government schools.
Caution should be taken if comparing data for the reference years 2020 and 2021.

Azerbaijan: Education data for the years 1998 to 2021 do not cover Nagorno-Karabakh, whereas
the 2022 World Population Prospects data do. The population data used for the calculation of
indicators were provided by national authorities and exclude Nagorno-Karabakh.

Belgium: the definition of internationally mobile students has changed in the country from
2013. Therefore, the historical trend of inbound mobile students’ needs to be interpreted with
caution.

Enrolment data do not include the German-speaking Community. Data on independent private
institutions refer to the European Schools. For these reasons, enrolment figures have a lower
coverage than the population, which leads to an underestimation of enrolment rates.

46
Bolivia, Plurinational State of: The rate of out-of-school adolescents of lower secondary (ISCED
2) and upper secondary (ISCED 3) age does not include data on students enrolled in tertiary
education (ISCED 5 to 8). This means that the number of out-of-school youth could be
overestimated.

Brazil: A break in the time series of pre-primary and primary indicators occurred in 2013 due
to the following changes in the national education system:

• The duration of pre-primary education changed from 3 years to 2 years.

• The entry age to primary education changed from 7 years to 6 years and the duration
from 4 years to 5 years.
Bulgaria: National population data used for the UIS February 2024 Refresh have undergone
significant changes between May 2024 and July 2024. For some age groups, the differences
exceed 10%. This change substantially impacts the value of population-based SDG indicators,
particularly enrolment rates, published in this September 2024 Release.

The country confirmed the change, indicating that the National Statistical Institute revised the
national population data based on the 2021 Bulgaria demographic census. This revision was
necessary due to large discrepancies between the census results and current population
estimates. The revision covers a ten-year period from 2012 to 2021. The reference data for ages
used during the demographic census is as of December 31st, 2021. To better align with education
data, the population data provided to the UIS was shifted one year forward.

China: Two Special Administrative Regions – Hong Kong and Macao – are reported separately
from data for China. The country asked the UIS not to publish data derived from PISA as this
only covers four provinces (Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Guangdong).

To maintain consistency in the time series data on international mobile students, students
from mainland China studying in Macao and Hong Kong are reported as international students.
However, these students do not strictly meet the definition of international mobile students.

Columbia: due to data quality issues, the country asked to put all education finance indicators
dirty.

47
Cyprus: Education data for Cyprus do not cover areas that are not under control of the national
government. The population data used for the calculation of indicators were provided by
national authorities and only cover the population living in government-controlled areas.

Czechia: On the basis of basis of Article 33 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms,
which is part of the Constitution of Czechia, citizens have the right to free education at basic
and secondary schools (ISCED levels 1 to 3), regardless of whether they are studying longer
than the standard period of study, including in cases where a citizen is studying a second
(third, fourth, ...) programme at secondary school. The 13 years of free education published by
the UIS show the theoretical ideal passage through the education system. It would be stated
quite correctly that free education at ISCED levels 1 to 3 is not limited.

Ecuador: The source of the education data used is the Archivo Maestro de Instituciones
Educativas (AMIE). Indicators were calculated with a capping factor and with national
population estimates. Therefore, indicators for Ecuador are not comparable with the data
officially published by the country.

Estonia: The country has an integrated pre-primary education programme. Pupil’s age is used
as a proxy to disaggregate data for early childhood educational programmes between ISCED 0
category 1 (early childhood educational development) and ISCED 0 category 2 (pre-primary).
Enrolment of children aged 2 years and younger is mapped as early childhood educational
development and enrolment of children aged 3 years and older is mapped as pre-primary. The
number of repeaters since 2008 are calculated with a different methodology than the one used
for previous years. Therefore, the time series are not comparable. For 2013, the ages for
enrolment in early childhood education were calculated as of 1 September and not as of 1
January as in later years.

France: There is a change in methodology in 2006 and 2013 that limits the comparability of
time series for SDG Indicator 4.3.3 participation rate in technical and vocational programmes
(15- to 24-year-olds), by sex.

48
Germany: As of 2009, there is no concept of repeaters in grades 1 to 2 of primary education.
This explains a decrease in 2009 in the time series “Percentage of repeaters in primary
education”.

China, Hong Kong SAR: Starting from the school year 2008/09, the Government of Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region of China is committed to providing 12 years of free primary and
secondary education to all eligible local children in public schools. It is mandatory for parents
to ensure their children, aged 6 to 15, attend school. Consequently, the rate of out-of-school
children is expected to be 0% at the primary and lower secondary education levels, and low at
the upper secondary level. Additionally, the gross intake ratio to the last grade of primary and
lower secondary general education programmes is expected to be 100%.

Kazakhstan: As of 2020, the structure of the national education system has changed. The
entrance age to primary education was set at 6 years old since the reference year 2020 (the
school year 2019/2020). Consequently, the theoretical ages in effect starting in 2020 are 6 to 9
years for primary education, 10 to 14 years for lower secondary education, and 15 to 16 years
for upper secondary education. Breaks in the time series between 2019 and 2020 can be
explained by the change in the education structure.

Lithuania: For 2005 and from 2007 to 2012, enrolment (ENRL) for primary education includes
only full-time students. And, for 2004 to 2012, ENRL for secondary education (lower and upper)
includes only full-time students as well.

Malaysia: Data from SEA-PLM 2019 for SDG Indicator 4.5.2 Percentage of students in a) early
grades, b) at the end of primary, and c) at the end of lower secondary education who have their
first or home language as language of instruction is not published as per country request to
SEAMEO.

Mexico: A break in the time series of pre-primary indicators occurs in 2014 due to the following
changes in the national education system:

The entry age to pre-primary education changed from 4 to 3 years.

The duration of pre-primary education changed from 2 to 3 years.

49
Norway: The country has an integrated early childhood education programme. Pupils’ ages are
used as a proxy to disaggregate data for early childhood educational programmes between
ISCED 0 category 1 (early childhood educational development) and ISCED 0 category 2 (pre-
primary). Enrolment of children up to 2 years of age is mapped to early childhood educational
development and enrolment of children aged 3 years and older is mapped to pre-primary.

Peru: The country asked the UIS not to publish data for PISA 2015 and 2018.

Republic of Moldova: The population data used to calculate indicators were provided by
national authorities and exclude Transnistria, consistently with education data. Additionally,
as of 2014, information provided by the country has been revised to use usual residential
population. For this reason, the population data time series were only available from 2014 to
2023, restricting the coverage of population-based education indicators to those years.

Russian Federation: As of 2015, information provided by the Russian Federation includes

statistical data for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine,
temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation. The population data used for the calculation
of indicators were from the UN Population Division and do not cover the Autonomous Republic
of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

Saudi Arabia: due to data quality issues, the country asked to put all education indicators non-
publishable.

Serbia: The population data used for the calculation of indicators are aligned to Education
data, and both datasets exclude Kosovo.

Singapore: Education data starting from 2016 refer to residents (citizens and permanent
residents) with local addresses and those were away from Singapore for a cumulative period
of less than 6 months in the past 12 months prior to the reference date (end of June each year).
The data should only be used for the purpose of computing education indicators and should
not be compared against other population data published by the Singapore government.

United Republic of Tanzania: Education data do not cover Zanzibar, whereas the 2022 World
Population Prospects data do. The population of Zanzibar is approximately 3% of the total

50
population of the United Republic of Tanzania. Population-based indicators are
underestimated and should therefore be interpreted with caution.

United States of America: Policies on free/compulsory education may vary by

state/subnational unit. Free education at ISCED 0 category 2 (pre-primary) is offered for one
year in the majority of states and, in some cases, a second year of pre-Kindergarten is also
free. Therefore, free/compulsory education estimates are a valid representation of the US
average but vary by state.

51
 15. UIS Resources
Data Access
• UIS data browser: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org
• SDG 4 Data Explorer: http://sdg4-data.uis.unesco.org/
• Global Education Observatory: http://geo.uis.unesco.org
Data Resources
• Metadata: https://tcg.uis.unesco.org/methodological-toolkit/metadata/
• UIS education glossary: http://uis.unesco.org/en/glossary?wbdisable=true
• LASER tool and resources: https://tcg.uis.unesco.org/laser/
• Country profiles: https://tcg.uis.unesco.org/country-profile-new/
• UIS Survey of Formal Education: http://uis.unesco.org/uis-questionnaires

SDG4 Benchmarking
• Setting Commitments: National SDG 4 benchmarks to transform education (2022):
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000382076
• SDG 4 Data Digest 2021: National SDG 4 benchmarks: fulfilling our neglected commitment
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000380387
• SDG4 Scorecard progress report on national benchmarks: Focus on early childhood (2023)
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000384295
• SDG4 Scorecard progress report on national benchmarks: focus on teachers (2024)
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000388411

Additional Resources for SDG4 Monitoring

• Online tools for monitoring SDG 4
• Tools and resources for monitoring SDG 4 indicator 4.1.1
• Regional reports to bridge global and regional education monitoring frameworks
(https://tcg.uis.unesco.org/regional-frameworks-for-sdg4/)
• Dashboard to bridge global and regional education monitoring frameworks
(https://tcg.uis.unesco.org/dashboard/)

Global Education Data Governance

• Education Data and Statistics Commission (EDSC), formerly known as Technical Cooperation
Group for SDG 4 Indicators (TCG): http://tcg.uis.unesco.org
• Decisions of the Conference of Education Data and Statistics

52
Annex 1.
UIS validation process of the multi-year dynamic
templates

53
Annex 2.
List of Other Policy Relevant Indicators
Classroom teachers and academic staff by sex
Number of teachers by teaching level of education (early childhood educational development, pre-primary,
primary, lower secondary, upper secondary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary, tertiary), by sex
Percentage of female teachers by teaching level of education (pre-primary, primary, lower secondary, upper
secondary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary, tertiary)
School life expectancy
School life expectancy by level of education (pre-primary, primary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary,
tertiary, primary and lower secondary, primary and secondary, primary to tertiary), by sex
Mean years of schooling
Mean years of schooling (primary level of education or higher), 25+ years, by sex
Number and rates of international mobile students (inbound and outbound)
Inbound internationally mobile students by continent of origin, both sexes
Inbound internationally mobile students by region of origin, both sexes
Inbound internationally mobile students by country of origin, both sexes
Outbound internationally mobile students by host region, both sexes
Net flow of internationally mobile students, both sexes
Inbound mobility rate, by sex
Outbound mobility ratio by host region, both sexes
Number of students and enrolment/attendance rates by level of education
Enrolment by level of education (early childhood educational development, pre-primary, primary, lower
secondary, upper secondary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary, short-cycle tertiary, bachelor's or
equivalent level, master's or equivalent level, doctor, or equivalent level), by sex
Gross enrolment ratio by level of education (primary, lower secondary, upper secondary, secondary, post-
secondary non-tertiary, primary and lower secondary, primary and secondary, primary to tertiary), by sex
Total net enrolment rate by level of education (primary, lower secondary, upper secondary), by sex
Total net attendance rate in primary education (household survey data), by sex, location (urban/rural), wealth
quintile
Total net attendance rate in lower secondary education (household survey data), by sex, location (urban/rural),
wealth quintile
Total net attendance rate in upper secondary education (household survey data), by sex, location
(urban/rural), wealth quintile
Graduation ratio from tertiary education
Gross graduation ratio from tertiary education (bachelor's or equivalent level, master's or equivalent level), by
sex
Repetition rate by grade (primary and lower secondary education) and number of repeaters
Repeaters in primary education, by grade and sex
Repeaters in lower secondary general education, by grade and sex
Repetition rate in primary education, by grade and sex

54
Repetition rate in lower secondary general education, by grade and sex
Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth (number)
Number of out-of-school children of one year before than official primary entry age, by sex
Number of out-of-school children of primary school age, by sex
Number of out-of-school adolescents of lower secondary school age, by sex
Number of out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age, by sex
Number of out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, by sex
Number of out-of-school adolescents and youth of secondary school age, by sex
Number of out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and secondary school age, by sex
Percentage of graduates by field of education (tertiary education)
Distribution of tertiary graduates by field of study, by sex
Educational expenditure by nature of spending in public educational institutions
Current expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public institutions (pre-primary, primary, lower
secondary, upper secondary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary, tertiary)
All staff compensation as a percentage of total expenditure in public institutions (pre-primary, primary, lower
secondary, upper secondary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary, tertiary)
Teaching staff compensation as a percentage of total expenditure in public institutions (pre-primary, primary,
lower secondary, upper secondary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary, tertiary)
Non-teaching staff compensation as a percentage of total expenditure in public institutions (pre-primary,
primary, lower secondary, upper secondary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary, tertiary)
Current expenditure other than staff compensation as a percentage of total expenditure in public institutions
(pre-primary, primary, lower secondary, upper secondary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary, tertiary)
Expenditure on schoolbooks and teaching material as % of total expenditure in public institutions, by level of
education (primary, secondary)
Capital expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public institutions (pre-primary, primary, lower
secondary, upper secondary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary, tertiary)
Percentage of students by programme orientation (ISCED 2, 3, 4 & 5)
Distribution of enrolment by programme orientation (general, vocational), and by level of education (in lower
secondary, upper secondary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary, short-cycle tertiary education)
Number of illiterates / Percentage of illiterates who are female
Illiterate population, by age-group (15-24 years, 15+ years, 25-64 years, 65+ years), by sex
Percentage of illiterates who are female, by age-group (15-24 years, 15+ years, 25-64 years, 65+ years), by
location (urban/rural)
Percentage of enrolment in private institutions by level of education
Distribution of enrolment by type of institution, by level of education (early childhood educational
development, pre-primary, early childhood education, primary, lower secondary, upper secondary, secondary,
post-secondary non-tertiary, tertiary)
Government expenditure on education (amount)
Government expenditure on education in PPP$ (millions), by level of education (pre-primary, primary, lower
secondary, upper secondary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary, secondary and post-secondary non-
tertiary vocational education, tertiary)
Government expenditure on education in constant PPP$, by level of education (pre-primary, primary, lower
secondary, upper secondary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary, secondary and post-secondary non-
tertiary vocational education, tertiary)

55
Government expenditure on education in US$, by level of education (pre-primary, primary, lower secondary,
upper secondary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary, secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary
vocational education, tertiary)
Government expenditure on education in constant US$, by level of education (pre-primary, primary, lower
secondary, upper secondary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary, secondary and post-secondary non-
tertiary vocational education, tertiary)
Survival rate by grade for primary education
Survival rate in primary education, by grade (grade 4, grade 5, last grade), by sex
Population of the official age / school age population
School age population by level of education, by level of education, by sex
Population at official entrance age by level of education (primary, secondary), by sex
Official entrance age and theoretical duration by level of education (years)
Official entrance age to each ISCED level of education (early childhood education, early childhood educational
development, pre-primary, primary, lower secondary, upper secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary), and to
compulsory education
Duration by level of education (early childhood education, early childhood educational development, pre-
primary, primary, lower secondary, upper secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary), and of compulsory
education
Start and end of academic school year (month, year)
Start and end of the academic year (pre-primary to post-secondary non-tertiary, and tertiary education)
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP, by level of education (pre-primary, primary,
lower secondary, upper secondary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary, secondary and post-secondary
non-tertiary vocational education, tertiary)

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