Name

Brief definition

The proportion of the adult population aged 20 years and over that have obtained a high school leaving certificate.

Unit of measure

% of adult population

Type of Indicator

Driving Force

Objective

This indicator provides a measure of the extent of education within the adult population and contributes to the definition of the socio-economic context of the area affected by desertification

Importance with respect to desertification

Education is critical for promoting and communicating sustainable development and improving the capacity of people to address environment and development issues. It facilitates the achievement of environmental and ethical awareness, values and skills, and effective public participation in decision making.

International Conventions and agreements

The UNCCD states that the national, sub-regional, and regional action programmes must adopt a democratic, bottom-up approach. They should emphasize popular participation and the creation of an "enabling environment" designed to allow local people to help themselves to reverse land degradation. Education to a certain level is a necessary condition to achieve this objective.

Secondary objectives of the indicator

If this indicator of education level is relatively low it suggests that efforts to improve education, especially with respect to the environmental and ethical awareness, will be required in the future.

Definitions and basic concepts

A person completing secondary education is someone who attends a secondary school and obtains a school-leaving certificate.

Benchmarks Indication of the values/ranges of value

I° range: < Local Mean -St. Dev.
II° range: >Local Mean - St. Dev. < Local Mean
III° range: > Local Mean < Local Mean + St. Dev.
IV° range: > Local Mean + St. Dev

Methods of measurement

To calculate the adult education level, the number of persons aged 20 years and over holding a school-leavers certificate is divided by the corresponding total population aged 20 years and over, and multiplied by 100.

Limits of the indicator

This indicator does not measure the quality of education, only whether a course of school-based education has been completed. There are many different forms of education. Education can be defined in terms of work, school, home, and social spheres. Each area of life requires different skills.

Linkages with other indicators

Education is closely linked to indicators reflecting basic needs, such as capacity building, information and communication, and the role of major groups.

Data required to calculate the indicator

Data is needed on the number of school leavers with certificates, and the population aged 20 years and over, as collected during population censuses and household surveys.

Data sources

The primary data sources are national population censuses and household surveys. International data sources include the Statistical Division of the United Nations Department of Economics and Social Information and Policy Analysis (DESIPA); and the UNESCO Division of Statistics.

Availability of data from national and international sources

Data are usually collected during national population censuses, or from household surveys. Official statistics exist for most countries in the world but are often not up-to-date due to late census data release. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) carries out periodical estimations and projections to fill data gaps. In principle the data are available at both the national and sub-national levels.

Main institutions responsible

University of Basilicata, Potenza, Italy

Other contributing organizations

Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Universidad de Murcia, Agricultural University of Athens

Bibliography

UNESCO Statistical Yearbook (annual editions); Compendium of Statistics on Illiteracy: 1995 Edition. UNESCO, Paris. 1995.

Other references

http://esl.jrc.it/envind

Contacts Name and address

University of Basilicata
Prof Giovanni Quaranta
email: quaranta@unibas.it