The latest Global Youth Development Index report released by the Commonwealth Secretariat has ranked Ghana’s education 125 out of 183 countries, behind El Salvador.
Ghana though not among the top-performing countries, is one of the biggest movers according to the report. The country together with “Tonga, The Gambia, Fiji and Brunei Darussalam are among the countries that have moved the most places up the ranks relative to other Commonwealth countries since the 2020 report”
According to the report, Commonwealth countries saw a significant increase in the average literacy rate over the last 12 years. It said the gap between men and women concerning access has become more equal.
Apart from Singapore which maintained the top spot, all the other top 10 countries are from Europe. African countries are concentrated at the bottom of the ranking, taking spots from 174 to 182, though Afagnistan settled for the bottom spot.
According to the Secretariat, the 2023 YDI measured progress in 183 countries, including 50 of the 56 Commonwealth countries. Six youth development domains were covered: Education, Employment and Opportunity, Equality and Inclusion, Health and Wellbeing, Peace and Security, and Political and Civic Participation. Changes in 27 indicators across the six domains are tracked over 12 years from 2010 to 2022.
Ghana scored 0.680 in Education and placed 125 out of the 183 countries considered. The country’s overall 2023 YDI is 0.721, placing it 105 globally and 21st among Commonwealth countries.
Patricia Scotland, the Secretary General of the Commonwealth told Joy News that the ranking is not a competition. She said it should be taken as a way to mobilize collective efforts against the threats.
According to her, it is “an opportunity for us to work together,” adding, “If you look at the Sustainable Development Goals they are a challenge for every one of us.”
She indicated that the ranking is “a competition between the threats that face us [countries] and what we have learnt in our Commonwealth if we coalesce around what works. If we share what does not work and collaborate then we can compete together.” Adding that, “we are at our best if we collaborate.”
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