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The world goes to school

The world goes to school

Rule Changes

How Global Enrollment Tripled in Two Generations

September 26th, 2017: World Bank Reports Global Enrollment Gains

Overview

In 1970, fewer than half the world's teenagers attended secondary school. By 2017, more than three-quarters did.

Primary enrollment hit 104 percent globally—meaning virtually every child of primary age was in school, plus millions of older students catching up. College attendance nearly quadrupled, from 10 percent to 37 percent. This expansion is one of the largest coordinated human capital investments in history, driven by international frameworks from Jomtien to Dakar to Incheon.

Literacy worldwide rose from 63 percent to 86 percent. But a parallel crisis emerged: hundreds of millions of enrolled students cannot read a simple sentence. The question shifted from whether children attend school to whether they learn anything there.

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Key Indicators

104%
Primary Gross Enrollment
Up from 89% in 1970. Exceeds 100% because older students are catching up.
77%
Secondary Enrollment
Nearly doubled from 41% in 1970.
37%
Tertiary Enrollment
Up from just 10% in 1970—a 3.7x increase.
617M
Students Not Learning
Children enrolled but not achieving minimum proficiency in reading or math.

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People Involved

Jim Yong Kim
Jim Yong Kim
Former World Bank President; joined Global Infrastructure Partners in 2019
 Irina Bokova
Irina Bokova
Former UNESCO Director-General; first woman and first Eastern European to hold the position

Organizations Involved

WB
World Bank Group
Multilateral development bank
Primary compiler of global education statistics; major education funder

Tracks education data across 227 countries and serves as one of the largest external financiers of education in developing nations.
UNESCO
UNESCO
International organization
Lead coordinator of global Education for All initiatives

Mandated to coordinate international education efforts and monitor progress toward global education goals.

Timeline

June 1944 September 2017

8 events Latest: September 26th, 2017 · 9 years ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. World Bank Reports Global Enrollment Gains

    Latest Data

    Primary enrollment reaches 104%, secondary 77%, tertiary 37%. Data shows 47 years of sustained expansion across all education levels.

  2. UNESCO Reports Learning Crisis

    Report

    617 million children enrolled but not achieving minimum proficiency. Signals pivot from enrollment quantity to learning quality.

  3. Incheon Declaration Adopted

    Framework

    1,600 participants from 160 countries shift focus from access to quality. SDG 4 targets inclusive, equitable quality education.

  4. Millennium Development Goals Launched

    Framework

    MDG 2 commits to universal primary education and MDG 3 to gender equality in education by 2015.

  5. Dakar Framework Adopted

    Framework

    164 governments commit to six Education for All goals by 2015, including universal primary education and gender parity.

  6. Education for All Launched at Jomtien

    Framework

    1,500 delegates from 155 countries adopt World Declaration on Education for All. Sets goal of universal primary education by 2000.

  7. Baseline Year for Global Education Metrics

    Data

    World Bank begins systematic tracking. Global primary enrollment at 89%, secondary at 41%, tertiary at 10%. Adult literacy at roughly 63%.

  8. GI Bill Signed into Law

    Policy

    U.S. Servicemen's Readjustment Act creates template for mass higher education expansion. By 1947, veterans are half of all U.S. college students.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

June 1944 - 1956

The GI Bill and American Higher Education (1944)

The Servicemen's Readjustment Act offered tuition, living expenses, and low-cost loans to 16 million returning WWII veterans. By 1947, veterans comprised half of all U.S. college students. Universities housed overflow students in Quonset huts as Indiana University ballooned from 3,000 to 10,000 students in two years.

Then

College enrollment exploded. The bill funded the education of 22,000 dentists, 67,000 doctors, 91,000 scientists, and 450,000 engineers.

Now

Established mass higher education as an American norm. Created template—government-funded human capital investment—that influenced global education frameworks decades later.

Why this matters now

The GI Bill demonstrated that rapid, large-scale education expansion was possible with sufficient political will and funding. Its economic returns (estimated at $7 for every $1 spent) became a reference point for development economists arguing for global education investment.

1954-1990

South Korea's Education-Driven Development (1954-1990)

After the Korean War left it among the world's poorest countries, South Korea prioritized universal education. Literacy rose from 22% in 1945 to over 70% by the late 1950s. The government expanded secondary and vocational education to support industrialization, achieving near-universal primary enrollment by the 1960s.

Then

Created skilled workforce that enabled export-oriented manufacturing boom.

Now

South Korea reached 98% literacy and high-income status. Became the model case that World Bank President Kim cited when advocating for education investment.

Why this matters now

South Korea's transformation from aid recipient to OECD member demonstrated that education investment could drive development. The 47-year global enrollment expansion tracked in 2017 data represents other countries attempting to replicate this model.

1945-1975

Post-WWII European Higher Education Expansion (1945-1975)

European countries emerged from WWII with university enrollment at 3-5% of age cohorts. Sweden's university population quintupled from 14,000 in 1947 to 70,000 by 1965. France doubled enrollment from 200,000 to 400,000 between 1960 and 1965, then doubled again by the mid-1970s.

Then

Massive infrastructure buildout and faculty hiring across European universities.

Now

Transformed higher education from elite privilege to mass expectation in developed democracies. Created the model of public university systems serving broad populations.

Why this matters now

The European expansion showed that rapid enrollment growth was a common post-war pattern, not unique to America. The global South's 1970-2017 expansion represents this pattern spreading worldwide, decades later.

Sources

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World Bank Our World in Data UNESCO UN News World Bank Data Help Desk World Bank The National WWII Museum World Bank World Bank UNESCO UNESCO Our World in Data