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Mapping local variation in educational attainment across Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Nicholas Graetz

    (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington)

  • Joseph Friedman

    (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington)

  • Aaron Osgood-Zimmerman

    (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington)

  • Roy Burstein

    (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington)

  • Molly H. Biehl

    (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington)

  • Chloe Shields

    (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington)

  • Jonathan F. Mosser

    (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington)

  • Daniel C. Casey

    (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington)

  • Aniruddha Deshpande

    (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington)

  • Lucas Earl

    (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington)

  • Robert C. Reiner

    (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington)

  • Sarah E. Ray

    (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington)

  • Nancy Fullman

    (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington)

  • Aubrey J. Levine

    (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington)

  • Rebecca W. Stubbs

    (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington)

  • Benjamin K. Mayala

    (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington)

  • Joshua Longbottom

    (Big Data Institute, Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, University of Oxford)

  • Annie J. Browne

    (Big Data Institute, Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, University of Oxford)

  • Samir Bhatt

    (Imperial College London)

  • Daniel J. Weiss

    (Big Data Institute, Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, University of Oxford)

  • Peter W. Gething

    (Big Data Institute, Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, University of Oxford)

  • Ali H. Mokdad

    (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington)

  • Stephen S. Lim

    (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington)

  • Christopher J. L. Murray

    (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington)

  • Emmanuela Gakidou

    (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington)

  • Simon I. Hay

    (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington
    Big Data Institute, Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, University of Oxford)

Abstract

Educational attainment for women of reproductive age is linked to reduced child and maternal mortality, lower fertility and improved reproductive health. Comparable analyses of attainment exist only at the national level, potentially obscuring patterns in subnational inequality. Evidence suggests that wide disparities between urban and rural populations exist, raising questions about where the majority of progress towards the education targets of the Sustainable Development Goals is occurring in African countries. Here we explore within-country inequalities by predicting years of schooling across five by five kilometre grids, generating estimates of average educational attainment by age and sex at subnational levels. Despite marked progress in attainment from 2000 to 2015 across Africa, substantial differences persist between locations and sexes. These differences have widened in many countries, particularly across the Sahel. These high-resolution, comparable estimates improve the ability of decision-makers to plan the precisely targeted interventions that will be necessary to deliver progress during the era of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicholas Graetz & Joseph Friedman & Aaron Osgood-Zimmerman & Roy Burstein & Molly H. Biehl & Chloe Shields & Jonathan F. Mosser & Daniel C. Casey & Aniruddha Deshpande & Lucas Earl & Robert C. Reiner , 2018. "Mapping local variation in educational attainment across Africa," Nature, Nature, vol. 555(7694), pages 48-53, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:555:y:2018:i:7694:d:10.1038_nature25761
    DOI: 10.1038/nature25761
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    Cited by:

    1. Michler, Jeffrey D. & Josephson, Anna & Kilic, Talip & Murray, Siobhan, 2022. "Privacy protection, measurement error, and the integration of remote sensing and socioeconomic survey data," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    2. Frola, Alessia & Delprato, Marcos & Chudgar, Amita, 2024. "Lack of educational access, women's empowerment and spatial education inequality for the Eastern and Western Africa regions," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    3. Iñaki Permanyer & Jeroen Smits, 2020. "Inequality in Human Development across the Globe," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 46(3), pages 583-601, September.
    4. Staffieri, Irene & Sitko, Nicholas J. & Maluccio, John A., 2023. "Sustaining enrolment when rains fail: School feeding, rainfall shocks and schooling in Malawi," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    5. Josh M. Colston & Abu S. G. Faruque & M. Jahangir Hossain & Debasish Saha & Suman Kanungo & Inácio Mandomando & M. Imran Nisar & Anita K. M. Zaidi & Richard Omore & Robert F. Breiman & Samba O. Sow & , 2020. "Associations between Household-Level Exposures and All-Cause Diarrhea and Pathogen-Specific Enteric Infections in Children Enrolled in Five Sentinel Surveillance Studies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-18, November.
    6. Delprato, Marcos & Chudgar, Amita & Frola, Alessia, 2024. "Spatial education inequality for attainment indicators in sub-saharan Africa and spillovers effects," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).

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