Only 59 Rural Indian Girls Complete Higher Secondary Education For Every 100 Boys: UNESCO

Last Updated:October 12, 2026, 10:29 IST

India’s gender parity index for upper-secondary completion stands at 0.59 in rural areas, against 1.00 in urban areas and 0.89 nationally, states the UNESCO report.

The completion-parity measure compares girls’ and boys’ completion levels; it is not a dropout rate. (Representative/File Photo)

Only 59 girls in rural India complete upper-secondary education for every 100 boys, compared with gender parity in urban areas, according to UNESCO’s 2026 Gender Report. India’s gender parity index for upper-secondary completion stands at 0.59 in rural areas, against 1.00 in urban areas and 0.89 nationally.

“In India, parity in upper secondary completion had been reached in urban areas, but in rural areas only 59 girls completed for every 100 boys,” states the official report.

The report titled Gender Equity in Access to Education, part of UNESCO’s 2026 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, highlights a sharp geographical divide in educational outcomes. The completion-parity measure compares girls’ and boys’ completion levels; it is not a dropout rate.

UDISE+ data shows a different pattern at the transition stage. In 2024–25, India’s transition rate from secondary to higher-secondary education was 75.1%. The rate was 77.9% for girls and 72.4% for boys, a difference of 5.5 percentage points in favour of girls.

State-level figures reveal further differences. In Karnataka, the transition rate was 70.3% for girls and 54.9% for boys. In Uttar Pradesh, it was 80.2% for girls and 73.5% for boys. Assam recorded rates of 61.0% for girls and 62.0% for boys, while Meghalaya recorded 48.3% for girls and 47.1% for boys.

These figures measure students’ transition from secondary to higher-secondary education, not completion of the latter stage.

International comparisons show that the gap varies across countries. Globally, 63% of girls and 60% of boys completed upper-secondary education in 2024. In Central and Southern Asia, the region that includes India, the completion rate was 57% for girls and 60% for boys.

Other countries have recorded changes in gender gaps over time. In Nepal, the gap between girls and boys in lower-secondary completion closed between 1990 and 2024, with 89% of both completing the stage by 2024. At upper-secondary level, however, Nepal remained short of parity: 44% of girls completed the stage, compared with 53% of boys.

In Cambodia, girls moved from a 22-percentage-point disadvantage in primary completion in 1981 to an 11-point advantage in 2024. Costa Rica’s upper-secondary completion gap favouring girls narrowed from 12 percentage points to seven between 2011–17 and 2018–24, the reported added.

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What is the gender parity index for upper-secondary completion in rural India according to UNESCO?

According to UNESCO’s 2026 Gender Report, India’s gender parity index for upper-secondary completion stands at 0.59 in rural areas, meaning only 59 rural girls complete education for every 100 boys.

How did transition rates from secondary to higher-secondary education compare between girls and boys in 2024-25?

In 2024–25, India’s national transition rate from secondary to higher-secondary education was 75.1%, with 77.9% for girls and 72.4% for boys, reflecting a 5.5 percentage point difference in favour of girls.

What are the primary reasons why girls drop out of school before reaching Class 10?

Girls often drop out due to social and family pressure, early marriage, increased household chores, long travel distances to secondary schools, safety worries, and financial burdens related to schooling expenses.

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