South Asia - School enrollment, primary, female (% gross)

The value for School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) in South Asia was 99.09 as of 2019. As the graph below shows, over the past 49 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 116.54 in 2016 and a minimum value of 54.14 in 1971.

Definition: Gross enrollment ratio is the ratio of total enrollment, regardless of age, to the population of the age group that officially corresponds to the level of education shown. Primary education provides children with basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills along with an elementary understanding of such subjects as history, geography, natural science, social science, art, and music.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (http://uis.unesco.org/)

See also:

Year Value
1970 54.35
1971 54.14
1972 55.68
1973 58.91
1974 58.23
1975 59.32
1976 59.80
1977 61.58
1978 59.04
1979 59.56
1980 60.60
1981 62.54
1982 63.13
1983 64.39
1984 66.03
1985 66.66
1986 69.07
1987 68.17
1988 71.10
1989 72.53
1990 73.33
1991 74.60
1992 75.61
1993 78.32
1994 79.99
1995 80.25
1996 80.79
1997 81.09
1998 80.47
1999 81.28
2000 82.87
2001 83.10
2002 85.34
2003 95.96
2004 97.83
2005 100.23
2006 101.95
2007 104.10
2008 105.57
2009 105.76
2010 106.06
2011 106.34
2012 107.63
2013 111.06
2014 109.19
2015 109.66
2016 116.54
2017 114.61
2018 98.89
2019 99.09

Development Relevance: Gross enrollment ratios indicate the capacity of each level of the education system, but a high ratio may reflect a substantial number of overage children enrolled in each grade because of repetition or late entry rather than a successful education system. The net enrollment rate excludes overage and underage students and more accurately captures the system's coverage and internal efficiency. Differences between the gross enrollment ratio and the net enrollment rate show the incidence of overage and underage enrollments.

Limitations and Exceptions: Enrollment indicators are based on annual school surveys, but do not necessarily reflect actual attendance or dropout rates during the year. Also, the length of education differs across countries and can influence enrollment rates, although the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) tries to minimize the difference. For example, a shorter duration for primary education tends to increase the rate; a longer one to decrease it (in part because older children are more at risk of dropping out). Moreover, age at enrollment may be inaccurately estimated or misstated, especially in communities where registration of births is not strictly enforced.

Other Notes: Data retrieved via API in March 2019. For detailed information on the observation level (e.g. National Estimation, UIS Estimation, or Category not applicable), please visit UIS.Stat (http://data.uis.unesco.org/).

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Gross enrollment ratio for primary school is calculated by dividing the number of students enrolled in primary education regardless of age by the population of the age group which officially corresponds to primary education, and multiplying by 100. Data on education are collected by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics from official responses to its annual education survey. All the data are mapped to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) to ensure the comparability of education programs at the international level. The current version was formally adopted by UNESCO Member States in 2011. Population data are drawn from the United Nations Population Division. Using a single source for population data standardizes definitions, estimations, and interpolation methods, ensuring a consistent methodology across countries and minimizing potential enumeration problems in national censuses. The reference years reflect the school year for which the data are presented. In some countries the school year spans two calendar years (for example, from September 2010 to June 2011); in these cases the reference year refers to the year in which the school year ended (2011 in the example).

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Education Indicators

Sub-Topic: Participation