UNESCO Institute of Statistics: "Education counts - Benchmarking progress in 19 WEI countries. Montreal: UIS, 2007. ISBN: 978-92-9189-049-1. Pages: 145.

This report of UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics (UIS) in Montreal gives an assessment of higher education trends in 19 middle and low-income countries (WEI countries), as well as, for comparative purposes, the member states of the OECD and 12 additional countries. The data-wealthy report covers areas such as attainment, finance, and participation.  The 63 countries covered represent 71% of the world’s population and over 90% of global GDP.  Some of the report’s findings:

• China now has the highest number of tertiary graduates in the world: 2.4 million, compared with, for example, 1.4 million in the US;
• Higher education graduation in the 19 WEI countries also exceeds that in the OECD (5.7 vs. 5.2 million);
• However, with about 20% of an age group, WEI graduation ratios remain below those in the OECD, which are almost double as high;
• Female exceeds male participation by far;
• In relative terms (though not in absolutes), per-student spending in WEI countries is much higher than in the OECD.

For a more complete picture, visit the UIS website.

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