Education Facts

Education Facts

One of the biggest contributors to global poverty is lack of access to education. Learn the facts about education for children in poverty and you will get a glimpse of how pervasive the problem is. The education facts tell a discouraging story of just how difficult it is for children in poverty to overcome the obstacles and escape their circumstances.

In order to effectively fight poverty, you need to understand the facts about education and how the lack of education affects children, especially girls. For instance, more than half of the world's illiterate people are women.

Compassion offers children in poverty the chance to change the facts about education one child at a time. When you sponsor a child with Compassion, your sponsorship provides school fees, uniforms, books and supplies - all things that prevent children from attending school. Your money also provides basic necessities for the family so the child does not have to work.

The education facts tell a discouraging story, but Compassion is working to change this. Through its sponsorship program, children attend school and get an education. This allows them the hope of escaping their cirucumstances and ending the cycle of poverty in their lives.

Education Facts
Education Facts Get the facts about education in developing countries and how it affects children and adults.
  • An estimated 130 million of the world's 15- to 24- year-olds cannot read or write.
  • There are 781 million illiterate adults worldwide, and 64 percent of them are women.
  • Nearly 115 million children are out of school. Globally, some 53 percent of the children out of primary school are girls, meaning that for every 100 boys out of school, 115 girls are in the same situation.
  • Of the 22 countries where more than half the population is illiterate, 15 are in Africa.
  • Only 14.4 percent of GDP per capita is spent on primary education worldwide.
  • About 75 percent of children out of primary school in developing countries have mothers who did not go to school.