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Facts on Women: Poverty, Farming, and Education
Women and Poverty
- Worldwide, 1.3 billion people live in absolute poverty. Seventy percent of them are women. (United Nations Development Fund for Women)
- The number of rural women living in absolute poverty has risen by 50 percent over the last two decades, as opposed to 30 percent for men. (United Nations Development Fund for Women)
- Approximately one-third of all rural households in sub-Saharan Africa are headed by women, and that number is increasing. (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)
- Women heads of households tend to be younger and less educated than men, and they have significantly less access to resources, severely limiting their earning potential. (The Unfinished Agenda, 2001, IFPRI)
Women and Farming
- Women are the world's principal food producers and providers. In sub-Saharan Africa, they are responsible for 70 to 80 percent of household food production. (The Unfinished Agenda, 2001, IFPRI)
- Women farmers receive less than ten percent of agricultural extension services in Africa, though they represent 60 to 80 percent of the agricultural labor force. (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)
- Only three percent of government-employed agricultural advisors in Africa are women. (The Unfinished Agenda, 2001, IFPRI)
- In sub-Saharan Africa, women farmers could increase their yields dramatically-up to 22 percent-with access to the human capital and resources that men have. (Gender Differences in Agricultural Productivity: a Survey of Empirical Evidence, 1995, IFPRI)
Women and Education
- Some 565 million women in the world are illiterate, mainly in poor rural areas. (The Fruits of Girls' Education, 2001, IFPRI)
- Better-educated females marry later and their children have lower infant mortality rates, because of better health practices. (The Fruits of Girls' Education, 2001, IFPRI)
- A ten percent increase in female literacy reduced child mortality by the same amount in 13 African countries between 1975 and 1985. (The Fruits of Girls' Education, 2001, IFPRI)
- One additional year of female education reduces fertility by five to ten percent. (The Fruits of Girls' Education, 2001, IFPRI)
- The adult illiteracy rate for females in Ghana is about 48 percent, compared to 29 percent for men. (World Bank Indicators, 1999)
- The education of females in Ghana is improving. Girls now account for nearly half of the primary school students in that country. (World Bank Indicators, 1999)
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