WORLD Policy Analysis Center

Do countries remove barriers to the right to education based on socioeconomic status, disability status, and gender?

Recognizing policies can have compounding effects for children’s access to education, this map assesses legal barriers to education across three domains and potentially intersecting statuses: socioeconomic status, disability, and gender.

For protecting fundamental access to education for all irrespective of socioeconomic status, countries were considered to have comprehensive protections if there was an explicit legislative or policy guarantee to compulsory education through beginning of secondary and free education through completion of secondary.

For children with disabilities, countries were considered to have comprehensive protections if there were be explicit legislative commitments for the prohibition of disability-based discrimination, access to integrated environments with supports, and the education of students in inclusive environments.

For gender, countries were considered to have comprehensive protections if there was an explicit prohibition of both gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment in national law.

Countries

Bahamas - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Barbados - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Botswana - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Brunei - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Dominica - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Eritrea - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Haiti - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Iraq - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Lebanon - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Liberia - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Micronesia, Federated States of - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Myanmar - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Papua New Guinea - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Samoa - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Seychelles - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Singapore - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Solomon Islands - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Sri Lanka - No comprehensive protections in any domain

St. Kitts and Nevis - No comprehensive protections in any domain

St. Lucia - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Thailand - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Tonga - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Trinidad and Tobago - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Tuvalu - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Vanuatu - No comprehensive protections in any domain

Algeria - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Antigua and Barbuda - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Bahrain - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Bangladesh - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Belarus - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Belize - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Bhutan - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Burkina Faso - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Burundi - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Cameroon - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Canada - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Cabo Verde - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Central African Republic - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Chad - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

China - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Comoros - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Democratic Republic of the Congo - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Cote d'Ivoire - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Croatia - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Cyprus - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Djibouti - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Egypt - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Equatorial Guinea - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Estonia - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Ethiopia - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Gabon - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Ghana - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Grenada - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Guatemala - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Guinea - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Guinea-Bissau - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Guyana - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Hungary - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

India - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Iran - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Italy - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Jordan - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Kenya - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Kiribati - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Democratic People's Republic of Korea - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Republic of Korea - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Kuwait - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Laos - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Latvia - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Lesotho - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Liechtenstein - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Madagascar - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Malaysia - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Mauritius - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Morocco - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Mozambique - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Namibia - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Nauru - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Niger - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Nigeria - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Qatar - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Romania - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Russian Federation - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Rwanda - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

San Marino - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Sao Tome and Principe - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Sierra Leone - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Somalia - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

St. Vincent and the Grenadines - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Sudan - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Suriname - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Eswatini - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Switzerland - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Timor-Leste - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Togo - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Uganda - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

United Arab Emirates - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

United Kingdom - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

United States of America - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Vietnam - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Yemen - Comprehensive protections in only 1 domain

Afghanistan - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Albania - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Angola - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Argentina - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Armenia - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Australia - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Austria - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Azerbaijan - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Belgium - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Benin - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Bolivia - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Brazil - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Chile - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Colombia - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Republic of the Congo - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Costa Rica - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Cuba - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Denmark - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

El Salvador - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Fiji - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Finland - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

France - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

The Gambia - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Georgia - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Germany - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Greece - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Greenland - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Honduras - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Iceland - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Indonesia - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Ireland - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Israel - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Jamaica - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Japan - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Kazakhstan - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Kyrgyzstan - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Lithuania - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Luxembourg - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Malawi - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Maldives - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Mali - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Malta - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Marshall Islands - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Mauritania - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Mexico - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Moldova - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Monaco - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Nepal - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

The Netherlands - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

New Zealand - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Nicaragua - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Oman - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Pakistan - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Palau - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

The Philippines - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Poland - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Senegal - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Slovakia - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Slovenia - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

South Africa - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

South Sudan - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Sweden - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Syria - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Tajikistan - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Tanzania - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Tunisia - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Turkmenistan - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Ukraine - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Uzbekistan - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Zambia - Comprehensive protections in only 2 domains

Andorra - Comprehensive protections in all 3 domains

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Comprehensive protections in all 3 domains

Bulgaria - Comprehensive protections in all 3 domains

Cambodia - Comprehensive protections in all 3 domains

Czech Republic - Comprehensive protections in all 3 domains

Dominican Republic - Comprehensive protections in all 3 domains

Ecuador - Comprehensive protections in all 3 domains

North Macedonia - Comprehensive protections in all 3 domains

Mongolia - Comprehensive protections in all 3 domains

Montenegro - Comprehensive protections in all 3 domains

Norway - Comprehensive protections in all 3 domains

Panama - Comprehensive protections in all 3 domains

Paraguay - Comprehensive protections in all 3 domains

Peru - Comprehensive protections in all 3 domains

Portugal - Comprehensive protections in all 3 domains

Saudi Arabia - Comprehensive protections in all 3 domains

Serbia - Comprehensive protections in all 3 domains

Spain - Comprehensive protections in all 3 domains

Türkiye - Comprehensive protections in all 3 domains

Uruguay - Comprehensive protections in all 3 domains

Venezuela - Comprehensive protections in all 3 domains