news - Trillions of dollars wasted worldwide by failure to educate girls: World Bank

A lack of education opportunities for girls results in a broad range of adverse impacts on their well-being, according to a report by the World Bank. It says low education rates can affect nutrition and health outcomes, reduce future earnings and living standards, and result in higher rates of child marriage and early childbearing. Currently less than two-thirds of girls in low-income countries complete primary school, and just one-third complete lower secondary school. The report, Missed Opportunities: The High Cost of Not Educating Girls, estimates that the missed opportunity in terms of human capital wealth, a calculation of future lifetime earnings of the labour force, amounts to between $15 trillion and $30 trillion.

Sources: The World Bank