Education in Brazil

Education in Brazil

EDUCATION IN BRAZIL

Brazil’s educational system must contend with the country’s high levels of poverty and income inequality. Over 70 million Brazilians, or nearly 39% of the population, can be defined as poor. Brazil’s educational challenges include:

Poor educational quality: Enrollment rates in Brazil have greatly increased since the early 1990’s. Despite increased coverage, Brazil ranks near the bottom of educational quality rankings. Brazil, with a GNI per capita of $3,460, ranks 114th out of 125 countries for the general quality of its educational system. This is far behind other countries with much worse economic indicators. India, with a GNI per capita of $720, ranked 25th, and the Gambia, with a $290 GNI per capita, ranked 55th.

Literacy: 75% of Brazilian 15-year-olds tested were incapable of performing even moderately difficult reading tasks.

High drop-out rates: In 2004, only 30% of Brazilian adults between the ages of 25 and 64 had obtained a high school degree, versus 88% in the U.S.

Educational inequality between the poor and non-poor: Of the 40% of Brazilians in their 30s with the lowest income, only five percent have completed secondary school. Of the richest 10%, 73% have done so.

Low government spending on education: Cumulative government expenditure per student for primary and secondary studies in Brazil is $11,356, compared to $107,614 in the U.S.

Sources: UNESCO, ECLAC, The World Bank, World Economic Forum, OECD and Fernando Reimers: Unequal Schools, Unequal Chances