Enrollment in educational institutions varies considerably across the continent of Asia, as evidenced by data maintained by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). [1] UNESCO's measurement categories for education are used in the context of international development work and are adopted by the World Bank in its EdStats database. [2] The United Nations issues a Human Development Index for each nation, of which the Education Index is a component.
The Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) is a component of the Education Index. It expresses the number of students enrolled in a given level of education as a percentage of the number of people within the official age for that level of education. GER can exceed 100% because some enrolled students may fall outside the official age range. [1]
The tables below show GER for each country in Asia. It is organized into five regions of population: South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, West Asia and Central Asia. Data is shown for four levels of education: pre-primary, primary, secondary and tertiary. (Tertiary education is also referred to as higher education).
The last year for which data are available is shown in parentheses following each number in the table. If the year is the same as for the column to the left, the year is omitted.
| Country | Population (millions) 2013 | Pre-primary | Primary | Secondary | Tertiary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Afghanistan | 30.6 | 1% (‘03) | 106% (’13) | 54% | 4% (’11) |
 Bangladesh | 156.6 | 33% (‘13) | 114 (’11) | 54% (’12) | 13% |
 Bhutan | 0.8 | 14% (‘13) | 107% | 78% | 11% |
 India | 1,252.1 | 58% (‘11) | 114% (’12) | 71% | 25% (’13) |
 Maldives | 0.3 | 83% (‘07) | 105% | 72% (’04) | 13% (’08) |
 Nepal | 27.8 | 87% (‘14) | 133% | 67% | 17% (’13) |
 Pakistan | 182.1 | 82% (‘13) | 92% | 38% | 10% |
 Sri Lanka | 21.1 | 90% (‘13) | 98% | 99% | 19% |
| Country | Population (millions) 2013 | Pre-primary | Primary | Secondary | Tertiary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 China | 1,385.6 | 74% (‘13) | 126% | 92% | 30% |
 Japan | 127.1 | 88% (‘12) | 102% | 102% | 61% |
 Mongolia | 2.8 | 86% (‘12) | 109% (’13) | 92% (’10) | 62% (’13) |
 North Korea | 24.9 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
 South Korea | 49.3 | 93% (‘14) | 100% | 99% | 97% |
 Taiwan | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Country | Population (millions) 2013 | Pre-primary | Primary | Secondary | Tertiary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Brunei | 0.4 | 64% (‘13) | 94% | 106% | 25% |
 Cambodia | 15.1 | 15% (‘13) | 125% | 45% (’08) | 16% (’11) |
 East Timor | 1.1 | 10% (‘05) | NA | NA | NA |
 Indonesia | 249.9 | 51% (‘13) | 109% (’12) | 83% (’13) | 32% (’12) |
 Laos | 6.7 | 26% (‘13) | NA | NA | NA |
 Malaysia | 29.7 | 84% (‘12) | 101% (’05) | 71% (’12) | 37% |
 Myanmar | 53.3 | 9% (‘10) | 114% | 50% | 13% (’12) |
 Philippines | 98.4 | 52% (‘09) | 107% (’13) | 85% | 34% |
 Singapore | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
 Thailand | 67.0 | 119% (‘13) | 100% | 86% | 51% |
 Vietnam | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Country | Population (millions) 2013 | Pre-primary | Primary | Secondary | Tertiary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Armenia | 3.0 | 46% (‘13) | 102% (’09) | 97% | 46% (’13) |
 Azerbaijan | NA | 25% (‘12) | 98% | 100% | 20% |
 Bahrain | 1.3 | 53% (‘13) | 104% (’99) | 101% (’11) | 40% ('14) |
 Cyprus | 0.9 ('12) | 78% (‘12) | 100% | 95% | 46% |
 Georgia | 4.3 | 58% (‘08) | NA | 101% (’13) | 33% |
 Iran | 77.4 | 38% (‘13) | 119% | 86% (’12) | 58% (’13) |
 Iraq | 33.8 | 7% (‘07) | 107% | 53% | 16% (’05) |
 Israel | 7.7 | 112% (‘13) | 104% | 102% | 67% |
 Jordan | 7.3 | 34% (‘12) | 98% | 88% | 47% |
 Kuwait | 3.4 | 81% (‘07) | 106% | 100% | 28% (’13) |
 Lebanon | 4.8 | 102% (‘13) | 113% | 75% | 48% |
 Oman | 3.6 | 52% (‘13) | 113% | 91% | 28% (’11) |
 Palestine | 4.3 | 78% (‘13) | 95% | 82% | 46% |
 Qatar | 2.2 | 58% (‘13) | 103% (’05) | 112% (’11) | 14% (’13) |
 Saudi Arabia | 28.3 | 17% (‘14) | NA | 124% | 58% (’13) |
 Syria | 21.9 | 6% (‘13) | 74% | 48% | 31% |
 Turkey | 74.0 | 28% (‘13) | 109% | 102% | 79% |
 UAE | 9.3 | 79% (‘11) | 108% (’12) | 84% (’99) | NA |
 Yemen | 24.4 | 1% (‘13) | 101% | 49% | 10% (’11) |
| Country | Population (millions) 2013 | Pre-primary | Primary | Secondary | Tertiary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kazakhstan | 16.4 | 58% (‘13) | 106% | 101% | 55% |
 Kyrgyzstan | 5.5 | 25% (‘12) | 109% (’13) | 88% | 48% |
 Tajikistan | 8.2 | 9% (‘11) | 96% (’14) | 87% (’12) | 24% (’14) |
 Turkmenistan | 5.2 | 63% (‘14) | 89% | 85% | 8% |
 Uzbekistan | 28.9 | 25% (‘11) | 93% | 105% | 9% |
As Asian nations compete in the global economy and aspire to join the developed nations, there is concern that rates of education may not be keeping pace. [3] [4] By comparison, Gross Enrollment Rates for North America and Western Europe in 2013 were 84.3% for pre-primary, 101.1% for primary, 105.1% for secondary, and 76.6% for tertiary education. [1]
Many Asian nations lack the capacity to scale up their enrollment to meet the escalating demand. [5]
There is also concern about a quality gap, as nations seek to scale up their enrollment quickly. [6] [7] A recent HSBC survey of 8400 parents in 15 Asia-Pacific countries revealed that parents from Hong Kong spend the most on their children's education to ensure a quality education that increases their competitiveness in the labor market. [8] On average, parents in Hong Kong spend an average of $132,100 per child, which is almost three times as much as the global amount of $44,200. Singapore and Taiwan followed with education expenditures of $70,939 and $56,400 respectively. [8]
There is concern about a gap between the education sought by the labor market and what is being taught in the educational institutions. [9]
Many Asian countries - mostly in East Asia and Southeast Asia - experienced a demographic dividend that boosted their economies during the past few decades. There is a widespread view that the South Asian countries are poised to benefit from a demographic dividend because their populations are young relative to the developed countries. [10] However, reaping this dividend is expected to require a workforce that is well educated, which means, at a minimum, increasing enrollment rates and educational quality.
Even though many Asian nations still have low GER compared with their North American and Western European counterparts, there has been considerable progress in recent years. For example, consider the change in GER over ten years preceding the latest data reported, for the three most populous Asian countries: China, India and Indonesia. All three countries had achieved virtually universal primary education (close to 100%) before this ten-year period, so consider the other three levels. Over a ten-year period, China's GER increased from 40% to 74% for pre-primary, from 60% to 92% for secondary, and from 15% to 30% for tertiary education. India's GER increased from 25% to 58% for pre-primary, from 48% to 71% for secondary, and from 11% to 25% for tertiary education. Indonesia's GER increased from 26% to 51% for pre-primary, from 61% to 83% for secondary, and from 15% to 32% for tertiary education. [11]
Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including universities as well as trade schools and colleges. Higher education is taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, while vocational education beyond secondary education is known as further education in the United Kingdom, or included under the category of continuing education in the United States.
Education in Botswana is provided by public schools and private schools. Education in Botswana is governed by the Ministries of Basic Education. and Tertiary, Research Science and Technology Among sub-Saharan African countries, Botswana has one of the highest literacy rates. According to The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency as of 2015, 88.5% of the population age 15 and over can read and write in Botswana were respectively literate.
In the 21st century, the Government of Egypt has given greater priority to improving the education system. According to the Human Development Index (HDI), Egypt is ranked 115 in the HDI, and 9 in the lowest 10 HDI countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa, in 2014. With the help of the World Bank and other multilateral organizations Egypt aims to increase access in early childhood to care and education and the inclusion of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at all levels of education, especially at the tertiary level. The government is responsible for offering free education at all levels. The current overall expenditure on education is about 12.6 percent as of 2007. Investment in education as a percentage of GDP rose to 4.8 in 2005 but then fell to 3.7 in 2007. The Ministry of Education is also tackling a number of issues: trying to move from a highly centralized system to offering more autonomy to individual institutions, thereby increasing accountability. The Human Rights Measurement Initiative finds that Egypt is achieving 89.3% of what should be possible for the right to education, at their level of income.
Education in the Syrian Arab Republic is given the necessary attention and care by the Syrian state, as the Syrian Constitution guarantees the right to education to every citizen, which is compulsory and free at primary level. It is free but not compulsory at the secondary level and higher education is available for a symbolic fee. the primary level includes 2 stages, 1 & 2 which include grades 1 to 6 while the secondary school includes grades 7 to 10
Education in the State of Palestine refers to the educational system in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which is administered by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education. Enrollment rates amongst Palestinians are relatively high by regional and global standards. According to a youth survey in 2003, 60% between the ages 10–24 indicated that education was their first priority. Youth literacy rate is 98.2%, while the national literacy rate is 91.1%. Enrollment ratios for higher education were 46.2% in 2007, among the highest in the world. In 2016 Hanan Al Hroub was awarded the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize for her work in teaching children how to cope with violence.
Before the arrival of European settlers, who introduced a formal education system addressed to the elites, education in Ghana was mainly informal and based on apprenticeship. Economic activities in pre-colonial Ghana were based on farm produce shared within households and members of each household specialized in providing necessities such as cooking utilities, shelter, clothing, and furniture, and trade with other households was therefore practiced on a very small scale. As such there was no need for employment outside the household that would have otherwise called for disciplines, values, and skills through a formal education system. After colonization, Ghana's economy became a hybrid of subsistence and formal economy.
Education in Lebanon is regulated by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE). In Lebanon, the main three languages, English and/or French with Arabic are taught from early years in schools. English or French are the mandatory media of instruction for mathematics and sciences for all schools. Education is compulsory from age 3 to 14.
Demographic dividend, as defined by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), is "the economic growth potential that can result from shifts in a population’s age structure, mainly when the share of the working-age population is larger than the non-working-age share of the population ". In other words, it is “a boost in economic productivity that occurs when there are growing numbers of people in the workforce relative to the number of dependents”. UNFPA stated that “A country with both increasing numbers of young people and declining fertility has the potential to reap a demographic dividend."
The education system of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan includes basic, secondary, and higher education and has dramatically evolved since the establishment of the state in the early 1900s. The role played by a good education system has been significant in the development of Jordan from a predominantly agrarian to an industrialized nation over time.
Education in Cambodia is controlled by the state through the Ministry of Education in a national level and by the Department of Education at the provincial level. The Cambodian education system includes pre-school, primary, secondary education, higher education and non-formal education. The education system includes the development of sport, information technology education, research development and technical education. School enrollment has increased during the 2000s in Cambodia. USAID data shows that in 2011 primary enrollment reached 96% of the child population, lower secondary school 34% and upper secondary 21%.
Yemen ranked 150 out of 177 in the 2006 Human Development Index and 121 out of 140 countries in the Gender Development Index (2006). In 2005, 81 percent of Yemen's school-age population was enrolled in primary school; enrollment of the female population was 74 percent. Then in 2005, about 46 percent of the school-age population was enrolled in secondary school, including only 30 percent of eligible females. The country is still struggling to provide the requisite infrastructure. School facilities and educational materials are of poor quality, classrooms are too few in number, and the teaching faculty is inadequate.
The education system in Morocco comprises pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary levels. School education is supervised by the Ministry of National Education, with considerable devolution to the regional level. Higher education falls under the Ministry of Higher Education and Executive Training.
Education in Kyrgyzstan is compulsory for nine years, between ages seven and 15. Following four years of primary and five years of lower secondary school, the system offers two years of upper secondary school, specialized secondary school, or vocational/technical school.
The State of Kuwait, located at the head of the Persian Gulf, supports an educational policy that seeks to provide an opportunity to all children, irrespective of their social class, including children with special needs. Kuwait was ranked 63rd on the Human Development Index report for 2011 by the United Nations Development Programme, placing Kuwait above the regional average.
Benin has abolished school fees and is carrying out the recommendations of its 2007 Educational Forum. In 2018, the net primary enrollment rate was 97 percent. Gross enrollment rate in secondary education has greatly increased in the last two decades, from 21.8 percent in 2000 to 59 percent in 2016, 67.1 percent in the case of males and 50.7 percent for females. Because of a rapid increase in the enrollment rate, the student/teacher ratio rose from 36:1 in 1990 to 53:1 in 1997 but has dropped again in the last years to 39:1 (2018). In 2018, the gross enrollment ratio in tertiary education was 12.5%.
The education system of Djibouti is strongly influenced by France.
Education in Lesotho has undergone reforms in recent years, meaning that primary education is now free, universal, and compulsory.
Education in Namibia is compulsory for 10 years between the ages of 6 and 16. There are approximately 1900 schools in Namibia of which 100 are privately owned. Namibian subjects' syllabi are based on the International General Certificate of Secondary Education which is part of Cambridge International. The Constitution directs the government to provide free primary education; however, families must pay fees for uniforms, stationery, books, hostels, and school improvements. Among sub-Saharan African countries, Namibia has one of the highest literacy rates.
Released by UNESCO, the Gender Parity Index (GPI) is a socioeconomic index usually designed to measure the relative access to education of males and females. It is used by international organizations, particularly in measuring the progress of developing countries. For example, some UNESCO documents consider gender parity in literacy.
Sustainable Development Goal 4 is about quality education and is among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in September 2015. The full title of SDG 4 is "Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all".
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