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

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, World's school enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) fell 0.00103 on 2019 (from 0.98 to 0.98).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2019), the average change was +0.00357 and a typical year strayed about 0.00668 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 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 0.03 in 1975 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.02 in 2018. 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 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.

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 World

• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• School enrollment, tertiary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1.12 (2024)
• Primary education, pupils — 780.85 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 102.16% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 101.48% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 102.8% (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 34.1 million (2024)
• Primary education, teachers (% female) — 69.21% (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 651.68 million (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

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

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 22.37% from 0.8 in 1970 (0.4% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 1.01 in 2016 and the lowest 0.8 in 1974.

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

In 2020, World's school enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) fell 0.00103 on 2019 (from 0.98 to 0.98). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2019), the average change was +0.00357 and a typical year strayed about 0.00668 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 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.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.

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