Figure MDG2.1 shows improvements in both enrolment rates and the enrolment gender gap. The pace of change in girls enrolment in primary education in sub-Saharan Africa is accelerating. Youth literacy has increased and the gender gap is narrowing in literacy in all regions (Figure MDG2.2) except the Middle East and North Africa.
Female literacy rates have increased substantially in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The gender gap has narrowed but not yet disappeared.
Post-primary education is known to have the greatest impact on women's empowerment. Yet girls' enrolment rates in secondary schools have not experienced the same level of increase as in primary education (Figure MDG2.3). Indeed, gender gaps are widening in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS) and South Asia.
Secondary education enrolment rates are much lower than primary education enrolment. For women, in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, this ratio is only 23% and 35%, respectively.
