SDG Indicator 4.3.1: Percentage of youth and adults in a given age range (e.g. 15-24 years, 25-64 years, etc.) participating in formal or non-formal education or training in a given time period (e.g. last 12 months).
Formal education and training is defined as education provided by the system of schools, colleges, universities and other formal educational institutions that normally constitutes a continuous ‘ladder’ of full-time education for children and young people, generally beginning at the age of 5 to 7 and continuing to up to 20 or 25 years old. In some countries, the upper parts of this ‘ladder’ are organized programmes of joint part-time employment and part-time participation in the regular school and university system.
Non-formal education and training is defined as any organized and sustained learning activities that do not correspond exactly to the above definition of formal education. Non-formal education may therefore take place both within and outside educational institutions and cater to people of all ages. Depending on national contexts, it may cover educational programmes to impart adult literacy, life-skills, work-skills, and general culture.
Administrative data from schools and other places of education and training or household survey data on participants in formal and non-formal education and training by single year of age; population censuses and surveys for population estimates by single year of age (if using administrative data on enrolment).
The Technical Cooperation Group on the Indicators for SDG 4 - Education 2030 (TCG) has recommended a set of survey questions to collect data for SDG indicators 4.3.1, 4.3.3 and 4.6.3 (see http://tcg.uis.unesco.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2019/01/TCG5-REF-4-...).
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
The number of people in selected age groups participating in formal or non-formal education or training is expressed as a percentage of the population of the same age.
Numbers of participants by single year of age in formal and non-formal education and training; population estimates by single year of age.
A high value indicates that a large share of the population in the relevant age group has access to and takes part in formal and non-formal education and training.
Formal and non-formal education and training can be offered in a variety of settings including schools and universities, workplace environments and others and can have a variety of durations. Administrative data often capture only provision in formal settings such as schools and universities. Participation rates do not capture the intensity or quality of the provision nor the outcomes of the education and training on offer.
To show the level of participation of youth and adults in education and training of all types.
Accurate data on participation in formal and non-formal education and training by age or specific age-groups and by sex, and the corresponding population data from all types of educational institutions (public and private), formal and non-formal, are essential for calculating this indicator. The international reporting of enrolment data should be based on the 2011 International Standard Classification of Education maintained by the UIS. The United Nations Population Division (UNPD) produces and maintains population data.
By age and sex from administrative sources; and by age, sex, location and income from household surveys and others as available.