Why It Matters

The Stats

Out of School Youth

31 millions girls of primary school age are not in school. If all women had a primary education:

34 million female adolescents are not in school. If all women had a secondary education:

Mother and Child
If all mothers completed primary education, maternal deaths would be reduced by two-thirds, saving 98,000 lives.

Stop Child Marriage

82 million girls between the ages of 10 and 17 will be married before their 18th birthday.

When girls in the developing world receive seven or more years of education, they marry four years later and have two fewer children.

If all girls had a primary education, there would be 14% fewer child marriages.

If all girls had a secondary education, there would be two-thirds fewer child marriages.

End Child Marriage
If current levels of child marriages hold, 14.2 million girls annually or 39,000 daily will marry too young.

Earning Power

In developing countries, 116 million young women ages 15-24 never completed primary schools and therefore lack vital skills for work.

Every year of school increases a girl’s earning power by 10 to 20 percent.

The return on secondary education is even higher, up to 15 to 25 percent.

Educated girls are powerful agents for social change— who increase their country's productivity and fuel economic growth.

Illiterate Females
Girls without access to education are usually forced to marry at young ages or forced into child labor.

Educated women are healthier, have fewer children, and provide better health care to their children.

Educated women are also more likely to send their children to school, breaking the intergenerational chain of poverty.