2 in 5 Brazilians do not have secondary education, says IBGE – 12/06/2023 – Education

The portion of the population aged 25 to 64 who had not completed compulsory basic education was 41.5% in Brazil in 2022, according to data released this Wednesday (6) by IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).

The proportion means that 2 in every 5 Brazilians in this age group had not finished high school at the time.

The percentage corresponds to more than double the average of 20.1% estimated in 2021 for OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, known as the “rich club”, whose members are committed to good practices for the functioning of governments and economies.

The result also places Brazil with a proportion of people without secondary education above Latin American countries such as Colombia (37.9%), Argentina (33.5%) and Chile (28%).

“If we limit the comparison to the youngest age group, from 25 to 34 years old, Brazil continued, in 2022, with a percentage twice as high as the average for OECD countries in 2021, that is, 28.6% for Brazil compared to 14.2% for the OECD average”, says IBGE.

The information is part of the Synthesis of Social Indicators. The publication analyzes statistics from surveys such as Pnad Contínua (Continuous National Household Sample Survey), also produced by IBGE, and other sources.

Betina Fresneda, synthesis analyst at the institute, associated the result with the delay in investment in education in Brazil compared to other countries. “This is reflected in the level of education achieved by the adult population,” she said.

According to IBGE, the delay in the expansion of the Brazilian education system also translates into the low percentage of people aged 25 to 64 who completed higher education. While the average for OECD countries in 2021 was 41.1%, the Brazilian figure in 2022 corresponded to around half: 20.7%.

Even though the 25 to 34 age group reached a higher percentage of people with higher education in Brazil, 23.4% in 2022, the result was also far from the OECD average in 2021 (46.9%). The Brazilian percentage (23.4%) was below Latin American countries such as Mexico (27.1%), Colombia (30.5%) and Chile (40.5%).

Pandemic affects school attendance

The institute also highlighted that, from 2019 to 2022, school attendance maintained a growth trend in only 1 of the 4 age groups analyzed, 15 to 17 years old.

In this portion, the indicator rose from 89% to 92.2%, but still fell short of universalization, as foreseen in Goal 3 of the PNE (National Education Plan).

Access to daycare for children aged 0 to 3 remained statistically stable from 2019 to 2022 (from 35.5% to 36%). Thus, the expansion of educational coverage for this age group was interrupted.

School attendance in the 4 and 5 year old group, at the beginning of mandatory basic education, fell 1.2 percentage points from 2019 to 2022, from 92.7% to 91.5%.

“These results indicate that the Covid-19 pandemic harmed the guarantee of access to school. This damage has not yet been reversed in 2022, more than two years after the first cases of Covid in Brazil”, assessed Fresneda.

In the age group of 6 to 14 years, universalization was practically achieved, going from 99.3% in 2019 to 99.4% in 2022.