....Two-thirds of the kids who don't go to school are girls. More than 70% of the out-of-school children are in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Of those who go to school, one-third drop out before they learn to read, write, and count. Over 15% of children in developing countries don't complete a course of primary education. In Sub-Saharan Africa, less than 60% of children complete a course of primary education. Nearly 1 billion adults in the world are illiterate. Women account for two thirds of all illiterate adults. Enrollment in tertiary education (enrolling in a university) in poor countries was less than 10% in 1997, compared to 57% in rich countries. Rich countries spend on average around $4,000.00 on a student each year, while developing countries spend around $40.00. In Sub-Saharan Africa, at least 40 million children are out of school - 22 million of them are girls. In South Asia, 36 million children are out of school - 22 million of them girls. In East Asia and the Pacific, there are 12 million children out of school - 6 million of them are girls. In the Arab States, there are 7.4 million children out of school - 4.5 million of them are girls. In Latin America, there are 2.5 million out of school with 1.2 million of them girls.

Benefits of Education
Educated mothers are 50% more likely to immunize their children than mothers with no schooling (Net Aid). It is a well known fact that the acquisition of literacy and numeracy, especially by women, has an impact upon fertility. More recently, it has become clear that the cognitive skills required to make informed choices about HIV/AIDS risk and behavior are strongly related to levels of education and literacy. (EFA Global Monitoring Report)

Increases Agricultural Productivity and Reduces Malnutrition
More productive farming due to increased female education accounts for 43% of the decline in malnutrition achieved between 1970 and 1995 (Net Aid). Failure to educate girls and women perpetuates needless hunger. Gains in women's education contributed most to reducing malnutrition between 1970 and 1995, playing a more important role than increased food availability (L. Smith and L. Haddad, 'Explaining Child Malnutrition in Developing Countries.' International Food Policy Research Institute Research Report No. 111 - Washington DC: International).

Raises Productivity and Income
There is good evidence to suggest that the quality of education - as measured by test scores - has an influence upon the speed with which societies can become richer and the extent to which individuals can improve their own productivity and incomes. It is well established that the distribution of personal incomes in society is strongly related to the amount of education people have had. (EFA Global Monitoring Report)

Research shows high private returns to primary education, as long as it is measured in terms of attainment of basic skills and not years spent in school. (M. Boissiere, 'Rationale for Public Investment in Primary Education in Developing Countries', World Bank IEG, 2004)