发展中国家增长最快的群体就是年轻人。如果得不到必须的教育,他们完全可能随着社会老龄化而成为前所未有的负担。全球范围内的小学教育已经取得了长足进步。1960年代,发展中国家接受小学教育的儿童还不到半数。而今天,这一比例已经超过90%。很多地区上小学的女孩比例比男孩还高。可以肯定,在尼日利亚和巴基斯坦等国仍有太多儿童无法接受教育,但真正的问题在于——小学教育结束后会出现什么状况。没有上中学的机会,孩子们就很少能改善自己的生 The fastest-growing groups in developing countries are young people. Without the necessary education, they are entirely likely to become an unprecedented burden as society ages. Primary education worldwide has made great strides. In the 1960s, less than half of the children in developing countries received primary education. Today, this proportion has exceeded 90%. In many areas, the proportion of girls in primary school is higher than that of boys. To be sure, there are still too many children in Nigeria and Pakistan that have no access to education, but the real question is what will happen after primary education ends. Children have little chance of improving their health without the chance of attending high school