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Primary School - There are still 31 million girls of primary school age who aren't in school. Of these, 17 million are expected to never go to school at all, and they need more attention.

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Primary School - Three countries have over a million girls not in school: Nigeria has five and a half million, Pakistan has over three million, and Ethiopia has over one million girls out of school.

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Lower Secondary School - There are also 34 million female adolescents out of school, missing out on all the vital on-and off-the-page learning that you went through in high school. 

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Less education means less usable skills for society - Almost a quarter of young women in developing countries aged 15-24 (116 million) have never completed primary school, and so they lack the skills to contribute to their societies.

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Literacy - Two-thirds of the 774 million illiterate people in the world are, you guessed it, female.

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How does girls’ education impact society? - Let us count the ways!

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Educated women are less likely to die in childbirth - Studies have shown that if all mothers completed primary education, maternal deaths would be reduced by two-thirds, saving about 98,000 lives.

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Educating women can save millions of lives - If all women had a primary education, there would be also 15% fewer child deaths.

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More education, more lives saved - If all women had a secondary education as well, child deaths would be cut in half, saving three million lives.

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Mothers’ education improves child nutrition - With just a primary education, 1.7 million children would be saved from stunting from malnutrition.

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Again: more education, more healthy children - If all women had a secondary education, that number changes to 12 million.

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Higher education means less early pregnancies - With a primary education, 10% fewer girls would become pregnant under 17 years old in sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia.

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Higher education means less early pregnancies - That number would increase to almost 60% if the girls received a secondary education.

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Educating girls is key in lowering birth rates - In sub-Saharan Africa, women with no education have 6.7 births, on average. That figure falls to 5.8 with a primary education, and 3.9 with a secondary education.

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Overpopulation is something we need to combat - For the sake of their lives and the entire world.

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Educated girls are less likely to be married early - If all girls had a primary education, there would be 14% fewer child marriages.

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Want to lower child marriages by two-thirds? - Give girls a secondary education too!

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Education narrows the pay gap - In Pakistan, women with a primary education earn just half of what men earn. With a secondary education, they earn 70% what men earn, which still leaves quite a lot of room for improvement. 

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Education is a step closer to gender equality - In Jordan, women with a primary education earn 53% of what men earn, and 67% with a secondary education.

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Educated women mean more people contributing to the workforce - In Brazil, only 37% of women with less than primary education are in work. This changes to 50% with a primary education, and 60% with a secondary education.

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A lesson a day keeps the hunger away - Mothers’ education improves children’s nutrition and reduces malnutrition, which is the underlying cause of more than a third of global child deaths.

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Knowledge is power - When mothers have the knowledge they need, they will feel more empowered to seek out what their children require.

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Education is empowering - Educated women have greater awareness of their rights, as well as more confidence and freedom to make positive decisions and overcome discrimination.

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The state of the girl must be improved - One in eight girls is married by the age of 15 in sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia, and one in seven has given birth by the age of 17. Remember the amazing opportunities you had as a teen? 

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Many countries have a lot of work to do - In 10 countries, 9 out of 10 of the poorest young women have not completed primary school.

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Lack of education is a life sentence - Without a huge helping hand, young women will be denied equal opportunities in work and life forever.

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Somalia is the lowest ranking country - An astounding 95% of the poorest females from 7-16 have never been to school in Somalia, and the country’s average years of education for the poorest girls aged 17-22 is a mere 0.3.

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The worst countries by percentage of girls who’ve never been to school: - Somalia, Niger, Liberia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Pakistan, Yemen, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire.

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The worst countries by average years of education for girls aged 17-22: - Somalia, Niger, Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Yemen, Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Pakistan, and Benin.

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Now what? -

Check out this list compiled by Educating Girls Matters of an array of organizations and ways for you to reach out and make a change.

See also: Where can you find the most and least women in the world?

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