among the countries in the regíon isnot

E
,.
D U e 'A
I
ION
~ )
oe educational situation
T
among the countries in the
regíon is not hornogeneous
and available information 0 1' the
subject also differs. Significant
diffetences arefound in lhe
enrollmeat ranosor coH'rage
provided by tbe educationalsystems
al dilferentlevels and, consequently,
in lhe degree ofschooling ofthe
populationingeneral.Taking these
aspects intcconsideration, Cuba
SE'emS loenjoy themost advanced
situation in the región.The Cuban
educarionalsystemprovidesslmost
fu ll coverage al the primary level,
and highschooleducanon is
available to most people. ln 1981, a
very small percentage ofthe
populationaged ayer 15had not
received srhooling (2.72%) and, al
presenl, illileracy is low. Guatemala
wasatthe other end of the scale in
1981,with Ihe worst educaticnal
ratio. Al the lime, almost halfthe
population had no schooling wbüe
40%of the populetíon aged over 15 ís
illiterate al present.
Considering tbe enrollment ranos or
coverage oí theeducational system,
there is a top groupofccuntres with
high coveragt> inprimary school
edueallon. dose loor betlt>r lhan 90%,
lhal haveexpandl?d cm'erage ofhigh
schooleducation loreaeh percenlagE'S
approximaling or exeeed ing 50%oi
the age group. Argentina. Chile,
Cuba. Pa nama and Uruguay arein
Ihis group. \'\~lh somewhallower
coverage perrentagE'S, Cosla Rica aOO
Peruaboform part oi this group oi
counlriE'S. Generali7at aocess loIhe
school syslem is reñected inthe
ed ucational structure ef the 15 years
old agegroup. The uneducated
perrentage of the populalion in these
countries is under 10%, and ilhteracy
ratesarealso below I ~.
Furthermore, incountries wherefhe
educationsys temdeveloped earlier, a
higher ratio of pecple with high
school educaticnor higher educaron
can beseen In Cuba, over halí the
population was in tbis category in
1990. Inthe early nineües. half the
population in Panama and Peruwas
in this calegory.
Asecond group is that of count ries
that have managed lo providealmost
fu ll roverage in primary school
educaticn, but rugh school educaticn
isevailable only lo ene third or lessof
theege group; that is, it isstill highly
ehtist.The number of uneducated
individuals insuch countries varíes
from 10 lo15 per cent ofthe
populationaged 15 and overowhile
illiteracy retes are similar. I his was
the situation in Colombia, Paraguay,
andVenezuela intheeighties. and in
México and Ecuadorin the nineties.
Higherrowrage in México and
Eruador ís recent, and therefore, the
resultsare not yetevident in the
educalional slruetureoi lheolder
populalion.
The lasl group ismade upof
counlries wilheducational syste!Il5
lhal provide insufficienl coverage,
e\"en al Ihe basie le"'eLln Ihisgroup
Ihe population wilh no schooling
reaehespercenlagesabove 16lJo, and
Ihesame occurswilhillileracy rates.
..
In the eighties, this group included El
Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras,
and in the nineties, Bolivia, Brazil, the
Dorninican Republic,and Nicaragua.
Educational underdevelopment in El
Salvador is drarnatic.In 1990, net
coverage in ElSalvador was 71 %for
primary sehool and 15%for high
school, while the illiteracy rate was
27%. InGuatemala the figures were
even worse, wi than ilIileracy rateof
40.7%that yea r.
Theeducationalsiluation ofwomen
is notdirectly related to the
educational development of the
countries. Althoughcountries with a
moredeveloped educational system
tend toshow a higher degree of
equality, the relationship isnot linear.
Peru, forexarnple, whichcurrently
has a highly deveJoped educational
system, isthecountry wi th the
highest level ofdiscrimination
against women, because the systemis
highlysegmented inlernally.
Differences between menand women
in Peru in terms ofiI1iteracy, lackof
education, wornen's presence in
highereducation, among others,are
the highest in the region.
Discrimination in nurnbers is also
evídent in the school curriculum,
since Peruvian lextbooks showoneof
the lowest percenlages ofwomen. In
Nicaragua,onthe otherhand, with
an undeveloped educalionalsyslem,
the figurestend lo favorwomen.
And in Honduras, another country
with belated educational
development, there is a rela tivelyfair
educationalsystem.
Significanl progresshas been madein
the last two decades in terms of the
sexdistributionof the coverage
provided by the school system.The
most outstanding achievements are
found in wornen's accessto higher
educalion, since this levelshowed the
biggest lag in 1970. Colombia has
made the most significant progress,
as its fema le enrollmentrose from
27%in 1970lo51%in 1990. AIthough
women in the nineties ha ve more
educational opportuníties, in many
countries their participation at the top
ofthesystemisstill much lower than
it is for menoIn preschool, primary
and secondary education, enrollment
percentagesbysexare practically
idenlical. Nevertheless, women's
enrollment in primary education
tends to be slightly lower than thal of
menoThis situation is reversed in
secondary education where, in
severalcountries, percenlages
ofenrolled women reachslightly
over50%.
With regard to coverage, the
presehool levelshows thegreatesl
growth,sinceenroll rnent increased
six-fold at the regional level. This
growth is linked, first, with
increased dema nd resulting from the
growi ng numberof women looking
for paid work, and second, with the
need to improve the levels al which
childrenenter theschool system. So
far, lhis last factor seems lo
predominate, as an in-depth analysis
shows that thecoverage provided by
preschool educa tion is significant
only ingroups of five years old
children where the figures for the
agegroupareclose to 60%.
Thisis not the case with children
under five where coverage iseven
more limited,
96
Sinceequalaccess to the schoo!
systern is relatively recent in many
countries, the educalionalstructureof
the populationover fifteenyears old
stillshows evidence of discrimination
against women. Illiteracy rates are
always more unfavorable as faras
women areconcerned;thesame is
trueamong the population withno
schooling. The figures get worse
when the area of residence is
considered. For example, rural
women are very backward as regards
ed ucation.The moststriking data in
this respect is fou nd in Peru, where
urban-ruraldiffere nces are
considerable as are those between
menand women: the illiteracy rate
among rural wornen reaches 45.6%,
whereas among ruralmenitis 10.4%,
and among urban men it only
amounts to 2.2%.
Despite wornen's progress in
improving lheir access toeducation,
theschool syslemhelps to reproduce
the traditional roles played by men
and women.Thisis c1earlyevident in
the professionalchoices Olade in
seconda ry and higher education. ln
secondary education, women tend to
choose. to a greater extent,
professional careers that signal the
end of their education. Instead, most
men choose ageneral academic
COlme in preparationfor university.
In professional highschooleducation,
men concentrate in industrial careers
while women gravitale toward
service-relaled careers.
In higher ed ucation, women showa
tendency to studyservice-related
careerssuchas professions in fields
like heaIth or education. Engineering
and farming arecareers chosen
primarilybymenoAlthough feminine
and masculine areas can be identified,
education appears lobe more
successfu! than that ofmenoAlI the
countries record lower repetition
thereare severalcareers which, in
rates for womenin primary
rnostcountries, have equally
distributedenroll ments, a fact that
indicares the diversityof professional
positions occupied by wornen at
present. These are careers like
mathematics, compulerscience,
naturalscience, law, management
and services.
education compared totheirmale
c1assma tes.
The distribution ofenrollment by
field ofstud varíes from ene country
toanother, and ome distributions
can beidentified as moreequitable
than others, dependingon the
number ofcareers with relatively
equal enrollmenl between menand
wornen. Cuba, Honduras, lexico
and icaragua are the mostequitable
countries in this respecto Panama,
however, whichhas a high
percentage ofwornenin higher
education, has a more segmented
dislribution.
The educalional systemreproduces
traditional gender roles, nol only in
the departures from the syslem, bul
ona daily basis through the implied
pedagogical discou r e.Adetailed
analysisofschool textbooks carried
oulin variouscountries repeatedly
showed women in a lower profile
within thesystem. Whenwornen do
appear in textbooks, they do so
primarily in thehome andonly ina
considerably smaller proportion
outside the home.
Regarding the percentage ofwomen
in leaching, there issegmenlation by
sex ÍJ1 all the countries: women's
participation ishígherat the bottom
ofthe educational syslemand lower
in the upper stages ofeducation.
Although percentages vary from one
country toanother, thetrend is fo r
wornen's participa tion to bealmost
total ÍJ1 preschool education, reaching
majority percenlages in primary
education -rough1y abouI70%·,
around halfinsecondary education,
and less thanonethird in
universities, Variation bycountry are
not directlyconsistenl with the
development of the educational
systems al any levelofthe school
system, Therearecountríes where
teaching is aneminently feminine
activity, like Argentina, icaragua,
Brazil orCosta Rica, andcountries
where there are fewer women
teachers, like Gualemala, Peruand
Mexico.
In the fu ture, it is possiblethat
leaching will be mostly carriedout by
women, since rnost ofthe students
enrolled in teaching careersin all the
countries arewomen.
A11hough pedagogical discourse
seems to make men stand out,
women's experience ÍJl primary
97
IlllTERACY
I
n the las twodecades, illiteracy
has fallen ccnsiderably in the
región asa dircct resu tt of the greater
coverage providcd by the basic school
systern and literacy campaigns. This
progress, nevertheless. isexpressed in
diñerent ways among thecountries
,lOO in the counlrics themselves.
Differences from ore country to
anotber fluctuare bctween those that
heve practical1y solved rhe problem
like Uruguay, that has anillitetacy
reteof3.8%, and Guatemala. whichis
the most backward country in this
aspect, with anilliteracy rete of -W.7%
of its pcpulationover 15 yt>ars oíd.
Between these 1W0 extremes. thereere
three groups ofcountries:al
Countries wit h illiterecy retesbelow
10'1, i.e. Argentina, Chile, Cuba.
Costa Rica, Paraguay, Vff\('zuí'la and
Uruguay; b)Countril'S with illiteraey
rall'S bt'lwffill O% olnd 20%, i.e.
Bolivia, Brazil,Colombia,Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, Mt'xioo, Panama
and Peru;and el Countrit>s when>
more than 20%of the population agt'd
owr 15(or ]O) is illilerate. i.t'. El
Salvador, Honduras,:\licaragua ando
a! lhf ht'adofthis group, Gualfmala.
Although tht'number ofillilerale
proplE' dropped in ,111 thf' counlries in
the Il'gionbt>twCt'n 1970 and 1m , thE'
rvolutionis unequal. Sornecountnf'S
havr moldr aconsidt'rable rfforl for
thrir populalion lo Ií'arn torrad and
wrilt'. This is lhrcasrof Peru, which
in lhf' last two dffadf'S rrducrd its
illitrracy ratf' by Iwo lhirds, moving
from thf' lWf'lfth place among the
counlries in thr n>gion up tothf'
righth.Significant dfons have ,lIso
bren set'n in Bolivia,:\licaragua,
Honduras,lOO El Salvador. Although
tbese counmes still show
considerable signsof illilf'racy,lht'y
have reduced the problem byabout
16 pE'rrenlagf' poínts. The reverse is
the rase inColombia, whichMSnot
progressed et the seme paceas the
other Latín American rountries. This
is illustratcd by the factthat Colombia
dropped from the síxth placein 1970
lo the twelfth in 1990. ThE' way the
problem has bren tackled in
Guatemala has not answered the
needs of itspopula tion cilher, and it
continúes 10 be the rountry wíth the
highest illiteracy rate in the región,
In thiscontext,women's illiteracy
tates elso dropped. Most countries
showa relative balance in the retes
persex oNevertheless, inallthe
countries, with the excepñon ofCosta
Rica, there aremore ílliterate women
than meno Peru isore of thc countries
with the biggest dffererces between
menand .....omen: women's iIliteracy
ralf'S arefour times higher than those
oi mf'l\ . Bolivia is anolht'rcase, whm
lherf' art' lwicr as many i\lileralt'
womenas mt'n. Othercounlrieswith
imporlant difft'rt'nct'S between
womrn and ffif'n arr Guatemala and
El Salvador.
O¡fft'rt'ncl'S insidf' !he countriesare
especially significanl depeOOing on
thf' place oí rrsidrnce. llIiteracy in
rural an>as rontinuesto be a major
problcm inmost of Ihecountnesin
the regi ón. Only Uruguayhas a rural
illüeracy rolle below 10%. The other
comtries show percentsges tbat, in
most caSE'S, amount to over 2O'l or
even higher.The worst situation s
found, once egain. inGuatemala
whcre, in 1990. half the rural
population was illiterate.
The lack oí equality forwomenis
worse among rural women. Peru has
tbe mostextreme figures in thís
rcs pect, with anilliteracy rolle of 2.2~
among urban men aro 45.6'1. among
rural women The situation is similar
inBolivia, wíth a rate of3.8\ for
urban men and 49.lfI. for rural
women. This trendistheoppositein
Brazil and Nicaragua, wherein1990
literacy tatesamong women in thc
rural population were higherIhan
among men.
Ethnic affiliation is anolher importan!
factorofinequity.ln coentries wbee
information brokt'l1 do.....n by ethnic
group isavailable, iIIiteracy among
Ihenative Indian population ismuch
hígher than the national average, and
iliSl'Specially acuteamong nativt'
Indian women. lnGuatemala and
Paraguay, countries wilhan important
native Indian population, oolyone
quarler of lodian\'lomen know how
10 read and write.ln Panama the
figure iscut almosl byone halí.
ILLl T ERACY RATE, ACCOROING TO SEX , AHONG THE NAT IVE
POPULATION OF GUATEMALA, PANAHA ANO PARAGUAY
GUATEI'W.A
1911
PANAI1A
1990
PARAGUAY
1911
--
..
'"
ILLlTERACY RATES. ACCOROINCi TO SEX ANO ZONE. 1970 -1990
""
A..
'~P
ARGENTINA
BOlMA
".
".
".
.,
.."'_ -=--_
al
1.'
14.6
4.1
_ - = -'--.- H
15,1
-=~-I
6.5
5J
U
37J
lB
111
15, 4
145
115
50.0
5.4
236
U
55
10.9
"
l.6
9.0
16.3
318
1.1
14.6
10.9
lH
'"
lO'
180
5.1
,4>
lO
11.0
14.1
"
'"
"'
la.
CHI"
l.6
45.6
)1.5
116
12>
"'
13
11
.'--_ _ c._---''-_'-_--'''_~_ ~_'.•
QJ'"
DOMJNICAN R.
ECUADOR
ELSALVADQR
MEXICO
'"
11 ,6
••
PANA'"
•.,
14.7
PARAGUAY
1.'
19,8
lO'
116
ns
"
"
112
28.'
II
11.0
5.1
H
..
URUGUAY
VENE 711FlA
m
51.9
39,6
P8<U
1>1
10.2
'H
3U
19.4
13
..
" .0
lO'
lO.1
18 2
34.)
104
".
11.1
SCHOOllNG
A
vailable data on the educational
attainmenl ofthe population is
dissimilar with regard lodates. In half
the countries, fhe iniormation refersto
theeighties whereas in thcother half it
correspondstothe nireties.
Nevertheless, lhe dala If¡x'aledlyshows
that mosl coentries in the region have a
pyramidal educationalstructure with
rcgard te the population over 15years
old. Ibe structureíscharecíerized by a
bread base ofpeople wbo merely have
basic educanon or lC5s; a much smaller
group who possess asecondary educatiorrand a small vertex fcrmedby tbose
who baveuniversity studies.
Cuba was thecountry withthe highl."sl
education levels already in 1981 , where
the p)Tamid is in\'E'rted, and Ihus lhe
population wilh serondary studies is
largerlhan !heollt' that onIy has
primary studies.The remaining countries can be das.sifiedinto threE.- groups.
Thefir.;t is moldeupofcounlTies wilh
the highest educationlevels, where propIe withprimaryedueation or less number bclween 5()%and 65%oflhepapulation. Chile and Colombia k'ere in trus
group in tht> eighties,. and Panama, Pero,
Boli\ia, Costa Rica. Eruador and ~1roro
k'ere in th.is group in the nineties. The
S«1lIld group is fonnt'd by countrie5
....ithIo"''er [evels ofschooling. where
the population wilh primary schooJing
or less reaches percentages around 66%
and 80%. Al thebeginning oflhe
eighlies, lhese counlrles ineluda!
Argentina, Paraguay, and Venezuela,
and in the nineties, Nicaragua and lhe
[A)minican Republie.The third group.
lhal is, countries wilh lhe "" orst Ie\'
els alschooling. where more lhan BO%
of thepopulation h.l, prim.uy sdlooIing
orless were,in 1980and 1981, El
Sah'ador and Guatemala, n.'5~\'eIy.
.100 in1989, Brazil.
population with no schooling amounts lo
23.7\ . íe dccble the rolle far lhe male
popuIation.
Taking intoacrounl merely tbe population wíth noschcoling.the mosI backward rountries are Guatemala 147,9%),
Among !he population with edvanced
El Salvador 130.2' 1and Nicaragua
educatien diff",,1lCl'S betseen meo and
(27.7%), Amore moderaredegree of
backwardness is present in Bolivia,
Brazil, the Dominican Republic,
Uruguay and Venezuela, where the populañon thatlacks schooIing flurtuates
around 15%t0 2O%of the group over 15
yemold. \Vhen !he population with
advarced education isexamired. it ís
evident that in most ccuntries ildoes
nct exceed 5%oi theage group. The
ercepüons lo ths case are Bolivia,
Ecuador, México. Panamáand Petu
whee pt'rct'Tltages of the population
with advanced studiesare cver 11%.
women are less thanamong the population with noscbooling. Al lhe higher
level. the mosl outstandingdiscrimination against women occurs in Mexiro.
But there are also rounlries where the situalion is reversed, i.e, tbe female papu.
Ial:ion with uruversítysudesisgrearer
than tbe male popalaticn. This ísthe case
in ParaguaylI982land Parama lIm!.
As in other arcas, the educational levels
of fbe natívelndianpopulation are much
lower lhan those of!he general popclation More than 90% of the Quechua-and
Aymara-speaking people in Bolivia had
Although the differences between meo no schooling in 1988, and tbe maprity of
and w'omen are minor in most rountrles, !he small group that had geined iKU'S510
tbe gereralterdency ls for worren lo
!he sdlooI
had onIy received priha\'e a kw.'erleve! aleducalion lhan
m.uy education. The situalion was slightmm The highest degreo of disalmina- Iy hett" in Paraguay. in 1982 A1'rough
!ion is found in tre population "'i!h no !he t'ducaliooal ...1of!he Guarani porschooling, and il becomesmore moder- ulation was Iower lo thdt oflhe Spanishate wilhin theschool syslemi!self.
speaking population,78.71J had received
Regard ing population thallacks school- primary schooling asa resuJI ofnational
ing entirely, the country with !he largesl efforts lobring!heGuarani population
differcnces is Bofivia, where lhe female inlo theschoolsyslem,
')'1"'"
EOUCATlONAL LE V ELS O f T H E INOIC ENOUS POPULATION. BY
-
LANCUACE IN BOLIVIA ANO PARACUAY
T....
....""'o
~
$
!
I
lOUVIA (I'Jll8) (I)
"""""" "'''''",
T"
-
_ _ __
....
1'. 4
41.1
9S.l
4.6
918
14.1
0.0
0.1
"
<0.1
n 6
OJ
0.1
u _
_
100.0
~
-'º-
nI
,o"'o.
PAAAG\lAY (I9ll2¡ (JJ
- ~--
"'.........
""" - --.........
T""
I(U,
IU
69.9
171
7&7
11
<O.
100,0
1000
1~
1)
0_ _
_
~
~_---,"
415
o,o-.-:=-~~==~~ '"
j
t
1
j
1
J
!
j
100
-,
PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTlON OF POPUlATION 15 YEARS OlD AND OVER, BY EDUCATIONAl
ATTAINHENT ANO BY SEX, lAST AVAllABlE YEAR III
"""""
_. No
,,,.,
AAGENTl""
W;orrflerecl
1'""W1t4
U
IH
llOlMA
w_
(1 m)
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(1 989. Toaf)
CHU
w_
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'l1
-
w_
(1m 12·'
JX>1O'OCAN •
(19''1)
7.'
su
JO.]
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.
H~
Ilol" sexes
41.9
(1981)
w_
~.
H~
HOOCO
llo\lI _ ~ .
(1 991, 12+)
w_
........ _.
PANANA
w_
........
(1990)
w_
_.
....
.... _.
w_
....
-
-----
lO UGUAY
....
........ _.
w_
w_
....
"""'"'" ....
....w_
(1'!85)
(1'!81)
-,
7.1
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11.1
IU
11.1
21.1
v.
17.1
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17.2
9.7
81
9.7
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ae
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No _
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101
1I
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S.J
1IJ
214
l<J
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;
(1992, 12 alld+)
.
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59 '
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COSTARICA
It•
10.0
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Jl
101
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58
B.. SAl.VAOQR
NlCAAAGUA
U
IIB
I~J
---
1J
llS
lO'
.... _- "1
....
....w_ '"
ECUADOR
au
'84
'84
190
2U
1J.9
(I"'l
- m-
~5 .8
Sl5
w_
(1'!81)
.
~
~t4
4l~
U
II
aMA
RC~
ecLllI
- ns
.... "'
........ _. "'
........ _. " n .
........ _- " ,'".. ,- w_
(198S)
~
lid.
~1 . 1
107
w_
''''''
~ ~ ~td ÚIIIlpIltld"
"'7fd.
....
'"
'"
........ _.
........ _. n1
'" "S"
........ _.
w_
•
- 100 -
Hizhnt Ioe'fel ~nt<I
(2,l
~
8
j
PRESCHOOL
EOUCATION
nrcllrnent in preschooleducation
E
in tbe región hasgrown
substant ially between 1970 and 1990.
In 1970 the boys and girls who
received preschool edacation
amounted lo 1.6 million, while in
1990 there were len million. that is,
the systemincreased itseducational
cepaciry ten-fold for cbild ren under
theage ot six. Twooftheprincipal
causes that have influenced growthat
thís level are women's Increesed
participation in the labor marketand
thedesire toimprovethe level at
which chl ld ren enter primaryschcol
soscholast ic failures can be reduced
in the earlygrades.
The enrohment oí girls in preschool
education practically equals that oí
boys inalJ countries in the reg ión.
even including the 1970 figures. In
fact, in1970 feminine enrollment
in the reglen was51 %and in 1990 it
was 5O%.
Allhough preschool enrollment has
increased in alJ the countries, lhe rale
ofgrowlh is uneven. Varialions
/luctuale belwt't'n countries lhal have
praclically maintai ned thesame
enrollment rates and countries thal,
in 1990, show figures twelve times
higher Ihan in 1970_Between thE.'St'
two extremes, lhecounlries can be
divided into four groups:a)
Countries wilh lillle growth: Bolivia,
Cuba and the Dominican Republic. In
the caseofCuba, !his isin/luencN by
lower birth rates. b)Countries where
preschoolenrollment between 1970
and 1990 increasro lhrre-fold or fourfold: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, El
Salvador, Panama, Paraguay and
Uruguay. e) Countries in which
enrollment has increased sixorseven
times:Costa Rica, Guatemala,
Honduras, Mexicc, Nicaragua. And
d) Counlries with a high growtb rete,
that haveincreased lheirpreschool
agegroup while inothers il refers
only lo 5 yearsolds. In countries
wbere tbedistinction can be made, an
overall studyof the 2lo6years old
age group shows that coverage is
eorollment rafemore thaneight
close lo10%, while if onlythe SY''''
limes: Brazíl, Peroand Venezuela.
old group isconsidered, coverage
tluctuates around 60%. The increase
in coverage has beenespecially
signíficant al the pl1'paratory level for
primary education. Fmm these
figures it isevident that enrollment al
the preschoollevel hasgrown more
as a reply lo the intemallogicof the
system than asa response to the
demand caused by women entering
fhe labor market.In this respect.
therefore. a long road still remains lo
be traveled.
Overand ebove the general increase
in preschool enrollment. coverage al
Ihis level isstill insuffident. Most of
tbe count ries provide coverage to less
than30%of the agegroup_Coverege
inColombia,Guatemalaand the
Dominican Republicis lower fhan
10%. Tbe countrieswlth the best
coverage, therefore. are Panamá,
Mexicoand Venezuela, with figures
clase to 60%.
A Iact that must be emphasized with
regardlo coverageis Ihat the
available dalais not consistení.In
sornecases, il covers the under-six
PRESCHOOL ENROLLHENT (I), ACCORDING TO SE X o 1910 -1990
Country
Al e
Number of mil>Of1,
enroJlM of bottl
sens (thouSloncls)
(lJ
AAGfNTlNA
WUVIA
Percenu.ze of women
In t ou.J enrollment
t.I910
d980
c.199O
22U
62.0
480.2
90.0
861.4
121.1
SI
41
60.4
n9
7.s
114.9
1144
21.9
220.4
na4
46.6
S2 - '---''.-_ ..
SO
49
U4.l
16.9-
121.1
- 21.3
22.2
_
SO.8
108.3
SI
SI
SO
4t!1
489
¡i"""""-: 33.0
51
S2
SO
, ,- -
51
SO
51-
48
- SI
SI
SJ
50
SI
SO
51
..
.. .
c. I910
IlRAZlL
,_-_-_-,,=,.l=='J-15-.l-J.i".~
,j=::::::.-',,"-
CHILf
S
COLOMIll4
COSTA R!CA
S
s.s
CU"
= = , -_S
I+U
DOMINÓN R.
J-
ECU~
4
118
EL~~ADOR
___
4
}.t,2
BJ.9
GUAlIMAlA
HONDURAS
4
4
21.5
14S.1
60.1
MfXJCO
NICARAGUA
4
J
422.1
10,1
1.011.6 t1H.J
3O.S
6J.2
PANAMA
5
6
J
1
5
7.1
74.]
20.1
SO.2
PARAGUAY
PERU
URUGUAY
- - -- VENEZUELA
~9
18.1
109
U8.2
424
42U
1 .61S. 8~,m .9
lATINAMERJCA
NOI'"
-
,.r.o-_ _
30.1
34.2
60).8
65.8
614.8
__
~
C- ~ o-a
lO'
....
..
• ..
d990
48
- --SI
SO
- -SO51
----52_-_50 _49
49
50
10.049.9_ _ " _ _',.'_ _ "
. . ""'Ie&o_ .... _""'.. _
_en__.. ...-_
01""',.,......fWO""
(1) K"'*v1..... ~ .o- ""' , _ 01 ~ ... lO
on<l
- . l. "'" . .
~
c.1980
<- ,
01.... o.-,.u.-.
J
i
i
j
doubled in recent decades
Al theotherextreme are tbe countries
withthe most signíficant growth in
the number ofeerolled students.
Bolivia, Nicaragua. El Salvador.
Hondurasand Guatemala, which
have more than doubled their
primaryschool enrollment, These are
'han 5()'{.
PRIMARY EDUCATION ENROLlMENT l l 1 ACCORDING TO
sexo
1970_1990
Country
Number of nudentet
Pen:enb ee ofwomen
enrolled of both le.et
In tobl enrollml!nt
(tbouunds)
ARGeNTINA
6OI./VIA
---
1970
1980
)Jas a
l.91 1.5
619.1
' 18)
(. 1' "
1910
"",,,'~
L _ _-.r-r--,17.fl66. 1
4,1 U .2
-- - _76'l.l
._ -I.IOSJ
1.0110.5
Ij )ol )
n W vAOOR.
SIO
&14.1
GUATEMAlA
HONDlJII.AS
HEOCO
son
I U.4
lBl}
60Ll
~
--
--
91W 14.666J
50
28SJ
4n 2--t
6J17
PANAMA
lSSJ
))1.5
JSU
4242
PERU
l)4 U
URUGUAY
-
~
lA TlNAMER.ICA
"- ;
ll l _ ...-
...
..
1-4.401.6
NlCAAAQJA
PNV.GJAY
ID]
" "
"
"
" .".
"
"
.". .".
"" ""
Sl90
687J
),161.4
4.0195
....
-.... .."
"..
SI
SI
47
n-u
m)
)46.4
1},' 7
1 158.S
4.osJO
*-19l0 UI 90.0
nl lJ.2
5 ...... 1) . . - . . - - . . .... " ' - _....................
e - e-
(. 1990
47
.".
"
_._-.vJ'
.
OQMINICAN R.
.
119.4
HaJ
- - -I.SlO.4
- - 1._.
468.5
COSTARICA
0J6A
.
31$6.1
.
,
COlOM8lA
21..598.)
11)4(1.1 1 185.5
.
OiIlf
1980
" - --::,"47 ---':
.
Thesystems are oriented towards
achievingtotal coverage ofbasic
education, and most of lhe countrles
showaninm ase in enrollment
between 1970 and lcm. Nevertheless.
there aredifferent growlh rales
acrording tothe actual situation of
eaeh nation.Thus, there is a groupof
countrieswilhmoderalegrowlhinils
primary schoolencollmentrale. 8asic
enrollment in Ihese rountries has
increased by 4%or 1ess over thelasl
Iwenty yearseither due lo
demographicdynamics asin the case
of Argentina. or because of Ihe
polines implemented. as in thecase
ofthe Dominican Republic.The
Nevertheless, lhe increaseis linked lo
the fact that the years01primary
schooling were raised from six to
nine, ¡.(I., it is morethe result ofan
internal rhange in ee systemthan
anexpensíonof«werage.
The growth ofenrollment has been
spedally signífícant tor wcmen.In
the Iast twodecades they have
increasingly enrolled in basic
schoolíng and inmost cases iris
almosl equal to thal of men.
Nevertheless, inten ofthe fourteen
ccuntries where available
inforrnationisdivided by sex,
the percentageof wcmen isless
,
P
Another group ot countries has
reduced itsprimary school
enrollment inabsolute figures. This is
thecase ofcountr ies líkeCuba. Chile
and Uruguay. which had gross
coverage retesclose lo 1m in 1970.
Due todemographic dyoamics
cha racterized bysubstantially
reduced fertility retes, the actual
demand per leve! has dropped in
these countries.
~
rimary education, designed as
the basisforknowledgeand
skílls to beshared by the entire
population, i..the tevel witbin the
school systemwith the greatest
coverage. Inseveralccuntries.
coverage is prcvided topractically
100% of the age group. and countries
where thisgoal has notbeen achieved
are movíng in that direction. Wjlhin
this framework.the rountries in the
region thet are laggíng far behind the
othersin the development of their
primary school systemare
Cuaternala. El Salvador. Nicaragua
and Colombia. with net coverage
ratesbelow &J%in1990. Alower
percentage of female enrollment is
also observedinGuatemala, t e.-46%
in 1990.The next in Une isBolivia
with afemale enrollment pcrcentage
of47%that same year. In the
remaining countnes, the figuresfor
male and female enrollment are
practicanyIhe same, although tht'
percentage ofwomen tends to be
slightlylower thanit isfor men.
all countries with recentlydeveloped
educational systems, which have not
yet reached total coverage.
Enrollmenl alsoincreased
considerably in Venezuela: rates have
.
EOUCATlON
rountries with moderare growth are
Colombia, Costa Rica and Panamá,
together with Argentina and the
Dominican Republic.
-
PRIMARY
..... -..-.. -
"
""