Although the proportion of persons aged 25 and over with a high school degree in the country has increased, with  change from 45.0% in 2016 to 47.4% in 2018 and 48.8% in 2019, more than half (51.2% or 69.5 million) of the adults did not conclude that education level. The data is found in the Education module of Continuous PNAD 2019, released today (15/7) by the IBGE.

In the Northeast, three out of every five adults (60.1%) did not finish high school. Among white persons, 57.0% had concluded that education level in the country, against 41.8% among blacks or browns.

The survey now presents, for the first time, data on school dropout. A total 20.2% of the 50 million persons aged 14 to 29 (or 10.1 million) did not conclude any of the basic education levels, either for having quit school or for not having attended it at all. Black and brown persons made up 71.7% of this group. 

The results also show that the passage from elementary school to high school increases school dropout, since, at the age 15, the percentage youngsters almost doubles in comparison with the preceding age bracket, with a change from 8.1%, at the age 14, to 14.1%, at the age 15. The highest percentages, however, were observed from age 16 onward, reaching 18.0% for persons aged 19 and over.

Among the reasons for school dropout, the main ones were the necessity of working (39.1%) and the lack of interest (29.2%). Among women, the highlights are pregnancy (23.8%) and household tasks (11.5%).

A total 56.4 million persons attended school of daycare centers in 2019. The schooling rate was of 35.6% (3.6 million) among children 0 to 3 years of age, 92.9% (5 million) among those aged 4 and 5, 99.7% (25.8 million) for those aged 6 to 14 years of age – a percentage close to universalization –, 89.2% (8.5 million) among those aged 15 to 17, 32.4% (7.3 million) for the ones aged 18 to 24 and 4.5% (6.1 million) for persons 25 years of age and over.

School failure or dropout affected 12.5% of the teenagers aged 11 to 14 and 28.6% of the persons aged 15 to 17. Among the youngsters aged 18 to 24, almost 75% had fallen behind of dropped out of school, with 11.0% behind and 63.5% out of school not having concluded compulsory education. On the other hand, the net school attendance of persons aged 15 to 17 increased 2.1 percentage points against 2018, with more than 70% of that age bracket at the right education level. 

Among persons 15 to 17 years of age, that is, at the compulsory school age, 78.8% dedicated their time exclusively to their studies. Nevertheless, considering those 46.9 million persons aged 15 to 29, 22.1% were not working, studying or investing in qualification; the percentage among women was 27.5% and among blacks and browns, 25.3%

The public school system is responsible for 74.7% of the students in daycare center and pre-school, 82.0% of the students in elementary school and 87.4% of those in high school. The private system served 73.7% of the undergraduate students and 74.3% of the graduate students. 

Among other indicators, the survey also showed that illiteracy is at 6.6%, which corresponds to 11 million persons, being more than half (56.2% or 6.2 million) lives in the Northeast Region. Among blacks and browns, the rate is 5.3 percentage points above that of white ones (8.9% and 3.6%).

More than half of the illiterate persons live in the Northeast Region

The illiteracy rate of persons aged 15 and over in Brazil stayed at 6.6% in 2019, corresponding to 11 million persons. More than half of them (56.2% or 6.2 million) lived in the Northeast Region and 21.7% (2.4 million persons), in the Southeast. Against 2018, there was a decrease of 0.2 percentage points in the illiteracy rate, that is, a reduction by 200 thousand illiterate persons in 2019.

The older the age group, the bigger the illiterate population. In the group aged 60 and over, the rate was 18.0%, which corresponds to almost 6 million persons.

By sex, in the population aged 15 and over, the rate of women was  6.3% and that of men, 6.9%, with a bigger decrease among women than men against 2018: 0.3 percentage points and 0.1 percentage points, respectively. In the age group 60 years of age and over, the rate was the same for men and women (18.0%), having remained stable for men, but falling by 1.1 percentage points in the case of women.

Illiteracy rate among blacks and browns is 5.3 times bigger than among white persons

In the analysis by color or race, what calls attention is the magnitude of the difference between white persons and black or brown ones. In 2019, 3.6% of the white persons aged 15 and over were illiterate, a percentage that rises to 8.9% among blacks or browns (a difference of 5.3 percentage points). In the age group 60 and over, the illiteracy rate of white persons hit 9.5%, and that of black or brown ones, hit 27.1%.

Percentage of adults aged 25 and over with a high school degree records increase

In Brazil, the proportion of persons aged 25 and over who finished at least high school went from 47.4% in 2018 to 48.8% in 2019. In 2016, that percentage was 45.0%. There was also an increase of the percentage of persons with a higher education degree, with a change from 16.5% to 17.4% between 2018 and 2019.

According to the Law of Directives and Bases of National Education (LDB), school education is formed by basic and higher education. Basic education encompasses child education (daycare and preschool), elementary education and high school. Higher education, in turn, provides undergraduate, graduate, sequence and extension courses, being the last two ones out of the scope of Continuous PNAD.

In the population aged 25 and over, 6.4% had no schooling, 32.2% had incomplete elementary school, 8.0%, complete elementary school and 4.5%, incomplete high school. Although these four groups recorded small drops between 2018 and 2019, more than half of the persons aged 25 and over did not finish high school in Brazil.

In the Northeast, three out of every five adults did not finish high school

In the Southeast and Central West, more than half of the population aged 25 and over had finished high school. On the other hand, in the Northeast, 60.1% of the adults had not finished high school.

More than half of the women (51.0%) in the country had at least complete high school, whereas among men that percentage was 46.3%. Regarding color or race, 57.0% of the white persons had concluded that education level; among blacks or browns the percentage was 41.8%, a difference of 15.2 percentage points.

In addition, the average years of schooling of persons 25 years of age and over changed from 8.9 years, in 2016, to 9.4 years, in 2019. Among women, the average was of 9.6 years of age and, among men, of 9.2 years. In terms of color or race, once more, there was considerable difference: 10.4 years of schooling for white persons and 8.6 years of schooling for black or brown ones.

Schooling of youngsters aged 15 to 17 has not reached universalization 

In 2019, 56.4 million persons were attending school or daycare centers. Among children aged 0 to 3, the schooling rate was of 35.6%, which is equivalent to 3.6 million students. Compared with 2018, the schooling rate of children aged 0 to 3 increased 1.4 percentage points, but, if compared with 2016, that rate increased 5.2 percentage points.

Among children aged 4 and 5, the rate was 92.9% in 2019, against 92.4% in 2018, amounting to a little more than 5 million children. In the age group 6 to 14, universalization, since 2016, had been virtually accomplished, with a total 99.7% of persons enrolled in school in 2019.

Among youngsters aged 15 to 17, the schooling rate was 89.2% in 2019, 1.0 percentage points above the figure in 2018; and a figure even lower to that of universalization by age group. Since 2013, the compulsory age for school life has been set from 4 to 17.

Among persons aged 18 to 24 and 25 and over, respectively 32.4% and 4.5% were attending school. So, in comparison with results of 2018, schooling increased in all the age groups up to 17 years of age, recorded statistical stability in the group aged 18 to 24 and a slight decrease in the group aged 25 and over.

The public education system has served the majority of the students from daycare to high school, being, in 2019, responsible for 74.7% of the students in daycare or preschool, for 83.0% of the students in elementary school and for 87.4% of the students in high school. The private system served 73.7% of the undergraduate and 74.3% of the graduate students.

Only 2.2% of the children aged 0 to 1 in the North Region are in daycare centers

The schooling rate of children aged 0 to 1 changed from 12.5% in 2018 to 14.4% in 2019, with significant regional change: whereas in the North the rate was of 2.2%, in 2019; in the South it was 25.8%. Among children aged 2 to 3 years of age, the rate changes to 55.4% in 2019, having increased by 1.6 percentage points versus 2018.The oldest age group, aged 4 to 5, recorded a significantly high percentage of schooling, without universalization, though.

Among children aged 0 to 1, 67.0% were not attending a day care center because of an option by their parents or caregivers and, among children 2 to 3 years of age, the percentage was of 53.5%. The second most often reported reason was the non-existence of a school or daycare center in the locality, lack of vacancies or unaccepted enrollment due to the age of the child, being 27.5% among children 0 to 1 and 39.9% for those aged 2 to 3.

Schooling of persons aged 6 to 14 is close to universalization

The schooling rate of persons aged 6 to 14, in 2019, was 99.7%, which is equivalent to 25.8 million students.

In the analysis of net school attendance, that is, adequacy between the age and the education level attended, it is observed that 95.8% of the children aged 6 to 10 were attending school in the initial years of elementary school, a level ideally set for that age bracket.

School failure grows from 11 years of age onwards

For the group aged 11 to 14 years of age, the adjusted net rate of school attendance in Brazil was 87.5%, 0.8 percentage points above that of 2018. The difference by color or race is a highlight: among white persons, 90.4% were at the proper age/level and, among blacks or browns, ibrate was 85.8%.

In general, it is observed tha children aged 6 to 10 remains adequately at the right age/level in the initial years of elementary school, but failure gets worse with the approach of final years. In 2019, 12.5% of the persons aged 11 to 14 years of age were behind in relation to the education level they should be at or were not enrolled in schoo. 

More than 70% of the teenagers aged 15 to 17 are at the proper education level

The schooling rate of persons aged 15 to 17 increased by 1.0 percentage points, reaching 89.2%. The net attendance rate was 71.4%, with an increase of 2.1 percentage points against 2018.

By sex, 76.4% of the women aged 15 to 17 were attending high school, a step that is proper for the age. However, among men, the rate was  66.7%, a difference of 9.7 percentage points. By color or race, the difference is even higher: 12.9 percentage points, being 79.6% for white persons and 66.7% for black or brown ones. 

Almost 75% of the youngsters aged 18 to 24 years of age were behind in school or had dropped out of it 

In 2019, the schooling rate of persons aged 18 to 24, regardless of the course attended, was 32.4%. In turn, 21.4% of the youngsters were attending higher education and 11.0% were behind in school, attending a basic education program. A total 4.1% had finished higher education and 63.5% were not attending school and had not finished compulsory education. 

Persons aged 18 to 24 – 2019

This scenario differs among the Major Regions. In the Central South, school failure of students aged 18 to 24 was between 8.0% and 9.6% and the percentage of persons who were not studying for having completed higher education changed from 4.8% to 5.7%. In the North and Northeast, that delay was bigger, about 15.0%, whereas the percentage of non-students with a university degree did not surpass 3.0%.

Passage from elementary to high school increases school dropout 

Among the 50 million persons aged 14 to 29 years of age in the country, 20.2% did not complete any of the levels of basic education, either because they left school before finishing a level, because they had never attended school. There were 10.1 million youngsters in this situation, among whom 58.3% were men and 41.7%, women. By color or race, 27.3% were white and 71.7%, black or brown. In addition to that, 9.8% had attended school before and 300 thousand had never.  

The mark of early school dropout is the age 15: when a youngster starts high school, the percentage almost doubles in relation to the previous age group, with a change from 8.1%,  at 14, to 14.1%, at 15. The biggest percentages, however, were observed from age 16 onwards, reaching 18.0% for persons aged 19 years of age and over. 

Persons aged 14 to 29 with a level of schooling below complete high school and who had attended school, by the age at which they left schoor race and Major Region – 2019

Necessity of working and lack of interest are the main reasons for dropout

The main reason for youngsters having left school of never having attended school was the necessity of working, reported by 39.1%, followed by lack of interest (29.2%). Among men, 50% said they needed to work and 33% that they had no interest in studying. Among women, the main reason was not having interest in studying (24.1%), followed by pregnancy and work (both with 23.8%). Besides, 11.5% of the women ranked household tasks as the main reason for having left of never having attended school, whereas, amongmen, that percentage was not significant (0.7%).

In all the Major Regions, the necessity of working and the lack of interest in studying affected about 70% of the youngsters, indicating the need for measures that incentive youngster permanence in school.

One out of every 10 students in higher education attend technological programs

In 2019, among the 8.4 million students in higher education in Brazil,  834 thousand attended technological courses (a specific mode focused on a professional area and of lower duration), which  corresponds to 9.9% of the total students in higher education. In relation to 2018, there was stability.

Considering the 9.3 million students in high school (regular or taking Youth and Adult Education - EJA), 7.1% were attending a technical or teacher training program. Among the 49.3 million persons that had finisehd high school or started higher education without finishing it or that were not attending higher education, 5.2% were attending a technical or teacher training course. In addition to that group of persons, 12.7% had finished one of those courses. 

Attendance of professional training courses at National Services for Professional Training records decrease 

Among the 171 million persons aged 14 and over, 26.7 million had already attended some type of professional qualification, that is, a percentage of 15.6%, 2.5 percentage points more than in 2018.

Attendance of professional qualification services increases with the level of schooling: 7.4% among persons without schooling or with complete elementary school, 20.9% among persons with incomplete high school up to incomplete higher education and 25.8% for persons with complete higher education. 

In relation to the institutes where those courses were conducted, 15.2% of the persons reported studying in the location where they worked, 17.1% in public institutions, 22.6% in National Services for Professional Training, 45.2% in oem outras instituições privadas. Comparando-se 2018 ther private institutions and in 2019, the ighlight was the significant decrease in attendance of National Services for Professional Training: from 27.0% in 2018 to 22.6% in 2019.

Persons aged 15 to 29 did not finish higher education in order to work 

In 2019, 23.8 million persons aged 15 to 29 with up to incomplete higher education did not attend school, professional qualification course of preparatory courses for university admission. More than half (53.0%) were men and 65.7% were black or brown. Also, 58.1% had complete high school or incomplete higher education and 41.9% had no schooling of at most, incomplete high school. 

Among the Major Regions, the Southeast concentrated the biggest percentage of persons in this situation, 39.8%, followed by the Northeast, with 29.8%. On the other hand, the lowest percentage was that of the Central West, 7.3%.

Among women aged 15 to 29, 27.5% were not working or studying 

Among the 46.9 million persons aged 15 to 29, 14.2% were employed and studying, 22.1% were not employed or studying; 28.1% were not employed, but were studying; and 35.6% were employed, but not studying. 

A total 27.5% of the women were not employed, or studying or investing in qualification; 28.8% were only working and 29.9% were only studyng or investing in qualification. Among men, these percentages were 16.6%, 42.3e and 26.4%, respectively.

As for color or racde, whereas among white persons, 17.0% were not working or studying, among blacks and browns that percentage was of 25.3%. Besides, 17.0% of the white persons were working and studying, a percentage slightly bigger that that of blacks or browns, 12.4%. The percentage of white persons only working (37.1%) and only studying  (28.8%) also surpassed that of black or brown persons, of 34.6% and 27.7%, respectively.

Most of the students at compulsory school age dedicated their time exclusively to studying

Among persons aged 15 to 17, who were still at compulsory school age, 78.8% dedicated their time exclusively to studying, 11.5% studied and worked and 7.2% did not study or work or invested in qualification. In the group of persons aged 18 to 24 years of age, 35.1% only worked and  26.5% did not work or study or invested in qualification. 

In the older group, of persons aged 25 to 29 anos, there is an increase of the hárelationship with the labor market, considering that 57.3% of those persons were only employed and 12.3% were either employed or studying or investing in their qualification. On the other hand, 24.9% of the persons in this group were not either employed, or studying or investing in qualification.