European Union: School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, European Union's school enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) rose 0.00096 on 2019 (from 1 to 1).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2019), the average change was +0.00018 and a typical year strayed about 0.00153 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.01 in 1976 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.01 in 1977. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2011 to 2020 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 29% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

Gender parity index for gross enrollment ratio in primary education is the ratio of girls to boys enrolled at primary level in public and private schools.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 51 values

School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 0.67 (2019)
• Algeria — 0.97 (2020)
• Bahrain — 0.99 (2019)
• Djibouti — 0.92 (2021)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 1.01 (2019)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 1.06 (2020)
• Israel — 1.01 (2020)
• Jordan — 0.99 (2021)
• Kuwait — 1.15 (2021)

More education data for European Union

• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 23.26 million (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 1.89 million (2024)
• Primary education, teachers (% female) — 85.61% (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 37.39 million (2024)
• Secondary education, teachers — 3.39 million (2024)
• Persistence to last grade of primary, total (% of cohort) — 97.7% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary and secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1 (2020)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is European Union's school enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI)?

1 in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 0.53% from 0.99 in 1970. The highest value was 1.01 in 1976 and the lowest 0.99 in 1998.

Is the latest change in school enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) unusual for European Union?

In 2020, European Union's school enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) rose 0.00096 on 2019 (from 1 to 1). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2019), the average change was +0.00018 and a typical year strayed about 0.00153 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.ENR.PRIM.FM.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://uis.unesco.org/bdds, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.