Measuring and forecasting progress towards the education-related SDG targets

Joseph Friedman, Hunter York, Nicholas Graetz, Lauren Woyczynski, Joanna Whisnant, Simon I. Hay, Emmanuela Gakidou

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

55 Scopus citations

Abstract

Education is a key dimension of well-being and a crucial indicator of development1–4. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) prioritize progress in education, with a new focus on inequality5–7. Here we model the within-country distribution of years of schooling, and use this model to explore educational inequality since 1970 and to forecast progress towards the education-related 2030 SDG targets. We show that although the world is largely on track to achieve near-universal primary education by 2030, substantial challenges remain in the completion rates for secondary and tertiary education. Globally, the gender gap in schooling had nearly closed by 2018 but gender disparities remained acute in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, and North Africa and the Middle East. It is predicted that, by 2030, females will have achieved significantly higher educational attainment than males in 18 countries. Inequality in education reached a peak globally in 2017 and is projected to decrease steadily up to 2030. The distributions and inequality metrics presented here represent a framework that can be used to track the progress of each country towards the SDG targets and the level of inequality over time. Reducing educational inequality is one way to promote a fairer distribution of human capital and the development of more equitable human societies.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)636-639
Number of pages4
JournalNature
Volume580
Issue number7805
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 30 2020
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, The Author(s).

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