Pakistan has a population of about 188 million people. As Pakistan continues to strive for universal basic primary education, it faces the related challenge of increasing access to learning opportunities at the secondary and tertiary levels.
Pakistan has a population of about 188 million people. As Pakistan continues to strive for universal basic primary education, it faces the related challenge of increasing access to learning opportunities at the secondary and tertiary levels.
School-age Population by Education Level1 |
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31,624,636 |
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20,964,647 |
Secondary |
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Tertiary |
|
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Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in Secondary Education |
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39.2% |
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45.9% |
Female |
|
Male |
|
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Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in Tertiary Education |
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8.3% |
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9.6% |
Female |
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Male |
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Percentage of female teachers in 1 |
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60.5% |
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n/a |
Secondary (2018) |
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Tertiary |
|
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1. UNESCO Institute for Statistics Data Centre, retrieved in March 2020 |
Literacy rate (2012)1 |
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42% |
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67% |
Adult (15+) literacy rate |
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Adult (15+) literacy rate |
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Economic Activity (2010)1 |
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23% |
|
85% |
Adult (15+) economic activity |
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Adult (15+) economic activity |
|
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Political Decision Making (2014)1 |
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21% |
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Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament |
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|
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Life expectancy (2012)1 |
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66 |
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64 |
Female |
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Male |
|
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1. COL gender country profile April 2015 |
1.3 | 72.6 |
Fixed-telephone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants1 | Mobile-cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants1 |
|
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0.9 | 29.2 |
Fixed-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants1 | Mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants1 |
|
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16.2 | 15.5 |
Households with a computer (%)1 | Individuals using the internet (%)1 |
|
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1. International Telecommunication Union (ITU) ICT Eye Country profile, retrieved in March 2020 |
The Commonwealth of Learning’s (COL) work in Pakistan includes the areas of technology-enabled learning, higher education and the schooling and skilling of girls, through the GIRLS Inspire initiative.
COL’s Aptus technology is an off-grid, offline virtual classroom – a classroom without walls. The Qatar Foundation: Reach Out to Asia, in collaboration with COL, ran a project in 2016 using Aptus in the Swat District. The project saw marked improvement in academic performance among the students involved. Learn more about Aptus.
GIRLS Inspire is a special initiative that provides vulnerable and hard-to-reach women and girls with opportunities for completing schooling and receiving skills training resulting in sustainable livelihoods. The initiative aims to end harmful effects of child, early and forced marriage in rural communities and address other barriers that prevent girls' full participation in society. In Pakistan, COL is working in partnership with the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child and Bedari. Learn more about the GIRLS Inspire initiative.
COL’s Higher Education initiative works to develop human resources for social and economic development across the Commonwealth. It supports higher education institutions and ministries in capacity building, policy development and curriculum reform. COL is working with Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) to offer the Commonwealth Executive Masters in Business Administration and Commonwealth Executive Masters in Public Administration (CEMBA/CEMPA) Programme. AIOU also holds a seat on the Executive Governing Board and Academic Board of the programme. Learn more about the Higher Education initiative.
Partnerships are fundamental to COL’s work. Strategic partnerships allow COL to broaden its reach and engage at global, regional and national levels, while implementation partners support COL’s work in communities and institutions across Commonwealth Member States. Partners include multilateral organisations, regional bodies, national governments, government agencies, foundations, civil society organisations, public and private (not-for-profit) institutions and the private sector.
COL's partners in Pakistan include: