2026 GEM Report
As the 2030 deadline draws nearer, there is a clear demand to take comprehensive stock of the progress achieved since the start of SDG 4. In this context, following a recommendation of the independent external evaluation of the GEM Report, its Advisory Board has recommended bringing education statistics to the forefront and introducing changes to the next three report cycles in the form of a Countdown to 2030 series.
The first report in the series will look at four indicators:
- Early childhood participation (SDG global indicator 4.2.2):
- Out-of-school rate (SDG thematic indicator 4.1.4
- Completion rate (SDG global indicator 4.1.2
- Tertiary education gross enrolment ratio (SDG thematic indicator 4.3.2):
Equity measures will be examined as part of the country case studies. In addition, some countries will also be selected directly based on analysis of progress in inequality measures.
For each one of the indicators and for a broad set of equity measures, five countries of fast progress and two countries of stagnation will be analysed – a total of 35 countries – to provide a representative set of examples. The aim is not to pick the ‘best’ performing countries in the world but a regionally balanced set of countries that moved fast, given their initial conditions and contexts.
The 2026 GEM Report aims to address the following questions:
- Among countries that started from similar levels of education development, which countries have improved much faster than others or stagnated in terms of early childhood education participation, out-of-school rates, completion rates and tertiary participation? Have they managed to reduce disparity?
- Among countries that have improved fast (or stagnated), what are the 2-3 key reasons that help explain the observed trends?
- What policies does research identify as having played a key role for improving education participation and reducing disparity in the long term – and how do they relate to factors put forward in country analyses? What is the role of financing policies to promote equity?
- What are the implications of the statistical, country case study and policy analyses for a forward looking education agenda? The recommendations would cover a range of issues, including: scope for improvement in approaches to monitoring participation at different education levels; lessons from past progress records on feasible but ambitious targets for an agenda post-2030 and a reflection on the implication for the right to education; mechanisms for setting targets; policy principles that have served countries that have expanded faster; and scope for improvement in approaches to monitoring policies.