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Sources:

Net enrolment ratio in secondary education
UNESCO Institute for Statistics, table 5: Enrolment ratios by ISCED level, available from UIS website, http://www.uis.unesco.org (accessed June 2011).

Girls’ share of secondary enrolment
Calculated by the United Nations Statistics Division based on data published by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics in table 5: Enrolment ratios by ISCED level, available from UIS website, http://www.uis.unesco.org (accessed June 2011).

Footnotes:

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Technical notes:

Statistics on enrolment are compiled by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics (UIS) from data provided by national Governments.

The 1997 International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED 97) defines second-level education as education programmes at ISCED levels 2 and 3. Lower secondary education (ISCED 2) is generally designed to continue the basic programmes of primary level but is typically more subject-focused, requiring more specialized teachers for each subject area. The end of this level often coincides with the end of compulsory education where it exists. In upper secondary education (ISCED 3), the final stage of secondary education in most countries, instruction is often organized even more along subject lines and teachers typically need higher or more subject-specific qualification than ISCED level 2.

The second-level net enrolment ratio (NER) is the number of boys and girls in the theoretical second-level age group that are enrolled in that level, expressed as a percentage of the total population in the corresponding age group. It shows the extent of participation in second-level education of children or youth belonging to the official age group corresponding to second-level education in the given country. A high second-level NER denotes a high degree of participation of secondary school-age children or youth in second-level education. The theoretical maximum value is 100%. If the second-level NER is below 100%, then the complement, i.e. the difference with 100%, provides a measure of the proportion of children or youth of secondary school age not enrolled at that level of education. However, since some of these children or youth could be enrolled at levels of education other than the secondary level, this difference should in no way be considered as indicating the percentage of secondary school-age children not enrolled.

The girls’ share of secondary enrolment refers to the percentage of students enrolled in secondary education who are female. This indicator helps assess gender disparity with regard to participation in secondary education. When the indicator approaches 50% it reflects a good level of gender parity.

While enrolment data offer an easy way of comparing the number of boys and girls enrolled in schools, these statistics do not reflect differences between boys and girls in rates of school attendance or absenteeism, repetition and dropping out.