North America: Primary education, pupils (% female)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, North America's primary education, pupils (% female) rose 0 percentage points on 2017 (from 48.76% to 48.76%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1988 to 2017), the average change was +0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.29 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below 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 0.44 percentage points in 2006 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.99 percentage points in 2000. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2009 to 2018 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains less than 1% 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

Female pupils as a percentage of total pupils at primary level include enrollments in public and private schools.

Limitations: The percentage of female enrollment is limited in assessing gender parity, because it's affected by the gender composition of population. Ratio of female to male in enrollment rate provides a population adjusted measure of gender parity.

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

All 39 values

Primary education, pupils (% female) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 38.96% (2018)
• Algeria — 47.82% (2018)
• Bahrain — 49.38% (2018)
• Djibouti — 46.36% (2019)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 48.6% (2018)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 50.13% (2017)
• Israel — 48.86% (2017)
• Jordan — 48.92% (2018)
• Kuwait — 48.97% (2018)
• Lebanon — 48.21% (2018)
• Malta

More education data for North America

• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 26.2 million (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 28.14 million (2024)
• Secondary education, teachers — 1.89 million (2024)
• School enrollment, preprimary (% gross) — 70.3% (2020)
• Tertiary education, academic staff (% female) — 51.24% (2024)
• School enrollment, secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 0.98 (2020)
• Secondary education, general pupils — 27.5 million (2018)
• Secondary education, vocational pupils

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is North America's primary education, pupils (% female)?

48.76% in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1980?

It is down 0.00729 percentage points from 48.77% in 1980. The highest value was 49.42% in 1999 and the lowest 48.28% in 1983.

Is the latest change in primary education, pupils (% female) unusual for North America?

In 2018, North America's primary education, pupils (% female) rose 0 percentage points on 2017 (from 48.76% to 48.76%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1988 to 2017), the average change was +0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.29 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below 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.PRM.ENRL.FE.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.

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