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397 - Education in Senegal: inequality in development
February 2012
The rate of primary education across the world has increased remarkably during the last decade, rising from 82% in 1999 to 88% in 2008, according to Unesco. The countries with the lowest education rates, in Sub-Saharan Africa and Western Asia, are also those who have demonstrated the largest increases. Beyond these figures, researchers have been questioning the reality in terms of inequalities and their reduction, and have shown that they have not yet disappeared. Two studies in Dakar have demonstrated this. They have provided a clearer picture of the consequences of the changes observed in Senegal, where an increasing number of girls are starting school, but remain less likely to proceed to secondary education than boys. The research has also underlined the boom in private education, now closing the gap with public schools: this is particularly the case for denominational private schools, with a success rate of almost 90% for the end-of-primary certificate, as opposed to just over 50% in the public sector.
The democratisation of primary schools has ushered in new educational norms and does not necessarily mean equal opportunities.
369 - Africa at a population turning point
March 2011
In the coming decades, the West African countries could benefit from a demographic window of opportunity to reduce their poverty. The arrival of 160 million young people on the labour market between 2010 and 2030 could accelerate economic growth. These countries could take advantage of this “demographic dividend”, which the emerging countries have been doing for 40 years. On condition that they lower their fertility rates, are still the highest in the world, with an average of five children per woman. That would enable them to reduce the number of economically non-active people being supported for each active individual..
An IRD researcher asserts this in a review published recently by the Agence française de développement (AFD), concerning a far-reaching survey( 1) conducted in 12 West African countries( 2): family planning and promotion of contraception are some of the main keys to sustainable economic growth. Yet to arrive at such a situation, these countries must assign 3 to 5 times the means currently given over to such a policy. Will they be able to manage this population turning point successfully?
Sub-Saharan Africa : the population emergency
December 2007
