Share
Marking International Women’s day, UNESCO unveils new data in a factsheet on girls’ education. The data is published as part of the #HerEducationOurFuture initiative, which aims to accelerate action for girls’ and women’s education by leveraging political and financial commitments, as well as leadership for women and girls.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic and its unprecedented disruption to education, UNESCO estimates that 11 million girls may not return to school. Girls aged 12-17 are at particular risk of dropping out of school in low and lower-income countries, whereas boys are more at risk in upper-middle and high-income countries.
Before COVID-19, there was already a long way to reach gender equality in and through education. In 10 countries around the world (Benin, Cameroon, Guinea, Haiti, Mali, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Senegal and Timor-Leste), the poorest girls spend less than 2 years in school on average. In Guinea, Mali and Pakistan over 80% of poor girls have spent only two years or less in school.