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Education data brought from the Observatory The Reality of Girls from Plan International in Latin America and The Caribbean
The following information compiles education data on educational access, school dropout, and school attendance, taking as reference variables of locality (rural or urban area), and gender differentiation for a more in-depth analysis of social inequalities in education in countries of the Americas region. It also links to observatory data on gender-based violence, early pregnancy and forced marriages and unions.
Guatemala school attendance rate:
The following analysis took into account the 5- to 18-year-old population that is enrolled in school, regardless of their grade or level, in relation to the total population of that same age group.
In 2021, 3,844,644 children and adolescents aged 5–18 years were enrolled in the Guatemalan education system, representing an attendance rate of 76.2%. In other words, 23.8% of that same population (1,201,746 children and adolescents) were out of school.
The lowest attendance rates were observed in the 16 to 18-year-old group, probably because by this age adolescents should be attending the “diversified cycle” (upper secondary school), which is not mandatory in the country. This was followed by the 13 to 15-year-old group with an attendance of 70.7%. Girls and female adolescents aged 13–18 years have lower attendance rates than boys and male adolescents within that same age, with an average difference of 3%.
The departments with the lowest attendance rates were:
- Huehuetenango (61.4%)
- Totonicapán (63.3%)
- Quiché (65.7%).
The largest gender gap occurred in the department of Alta Verapaz, with a difference of 5.5% (where attendance rate for boys was 75.6% and 70.1% for girls).
In Guatemala, 60,386 adolescents between the ages of 15 and 19 gave birth in 2020. The departments with the highest proportion of girls and adolescents aged 15–19 years who had a delivery were:
- Alta Verapaz (where 10 out of every 100 adolescents between 15 and 19 years of age had a birth)
- Huehuetenango (9.4%)
- Quiché and Petén (8.8%).
Some of these departments are located in the Central American Dry Corridor, a region impacted by the food security crisis.
El Salvador school attendance rate:
In 2021, access to education in El Salvador decreased by 1.2% compared to 2019. This may be largely associated with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its exacerbation of preceding social and economic problems which increase vulnerability among girls and boys.
The departments with the lowest rate attendance were:
- Cabañas (44.7%)
- Ahuachapán (44.6%)
- La Unión (42.3%)
The department of San Vicente is considered one of the departments with the highest fertility rates among girls aged 10–19 years.
In 2019, El Salvador had 17,314 adolescents between the ages of 15 and 17 who were involved in early unions, of which 86% were girls.
Honduras school attendance rate:
In 2019, 32% of Honduran girls were not covered by their country’s education system. The departments with the lowest school attendance rate were:
- Olancho (39.6%)
- Copán (37.8%)
- Comayagua (37.7%).
In 2020, 23% of adolescents aged 15–19 years in Honduras had a live birth or were pregnant with their first child. This was 1% less than the Honduran 2012 survey’s data (24%).
In 2017, Honduras had 1,854 girls and adolescents aged 10–14 years who were in an unmarried union. That same year, Honduras also had 98,590 adolescents aged 15–19 years who were in an unmarried union, of which 81% were female.
Mexico school attendance rate:
In 2021, on average 3.5% of Mexican students left their education system before the end of the school year. The highest rate took place at the upper secondary level, i.e. adolescents aged 15–17 years, at 8.2%, followed by the basic secondary level at 2%. Mexican public data does not disaggregate school dropout rates by sex.
During 2016, Mexico had 2,555 women over 15 years of age who were victims of sexual violence and 37,886 adolescents aged 15–19 years who were married in 2020, 74% of whom were female.
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