The report presents data – for the school year ending in 2004 – on educational attainment, finance, participation, as well as teachers and the learning environment for 63 countries (72% of the world’s population).
In particular, the report enables the 19 countries participating in the WEI programme* to compare their educational outcomes to those of countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The main aim of the WEI programme is to establish a comparative perspective on key policy issues to help assess changes in education systems across a diverse group of countries. Most of the participants are close to achieving universal primary education. Therefore, the WEI programme focuses on efforts to monitor and improve educational quality at all levels, including primary, and access to higher levels of learning.
* Participating countries include: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Jordan, Malaysia, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay and Zimbabwe.