The geography of education in Africa
Why mission schools still matter
EDUCATION IN sub-Saharan Africa has come a long way. About 70% of children can expect to finish primary school, up from 45% in 1971. Progress though, has not been evenly spread. A new paper sheds light on why. The strongest predictor of whether children will finish primary school is their parents’ level of education. But geography also plays a role. Children who grow up near big cities are more likely to climb the educational ladder. Living near certain colonial-era institutions, such as railways or mission stations, also improves children’s chances of becoming better educated than their parents. Living near diamond mines or oil wells does not.
From the February 23rd 2019 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Middle East & Africa
Hamas talks a big game but is in chaos
Look beyond the latest bravado and brutality and it is bitterly split
Iran’s alarming nuclear dash will soon test Donald Trump
There is no plausible civilian use for the enhanced uranium Iran is producing
Syria’s new rulers say they are keen to integrate foreign fighters
Outsiders continue to see them as a threat
Rwanda’s reckless plan to redraw the map of Africa
The fall of Goma could trigger another Congo conflict
Three big lawsuits against Meta in Kenya may have global implications
One was prompted by the murder of an Ethiopian professor
Trump should try to end, not manage, the Middle East’s oldest conflicts
And he should see the region as more than a source of instability and arms deals