By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Mar. 18, 2016: When it comes to education in the Americas – the Caribbean and Latin American – girls/women are doing far better than boys/men. Here are the top 10 nations in this region where women are more likely to go into tertiary education and are better educated than men according to the World Economic Forum’s latest Global Gender Gap index. Tertiary education is anything taken on after school and includes university, vocational training, and military service.
1: BARBADOS
In the eastern Caribbean island of Barbados, aka BIM, with a population of less than 300,000, a whopping 88 percent of Barbadian women are in higher or further education, outnumbering men by nearly two and a half times. This makes Barbados the number one country in the Americas where women are more educated than men.
2: JAMAICA
Taking the number two spot is the island that gave the world reggae, Bob Marley and Usain Bolt. In Jamaica, with a population of over 2.7 million, around 40 percent of women go into tertiary education. That’s 2.29 times more than the number of men going to universities and colleges.
3: GUYANA
The South American CARICOM nation of Guyana, with a population of under 800,000, has dropped from its hay days as the region’s education leader. It now has relatively low levels of education for both sexes. Only 18 percent of females go into further or higher education but that’s still more than twice the number of men continuing their education after school and enough to land it on the number three slot on the top 10 list.
4: URUGUAY
With a population of over 3.4 million, the South American nation of Uruguay has a significantly high percentage of educated women. Eighty percent of all women in Uruguay go into further education, a ratio of 1.73.
5: SURINAME
In the Dutch Caribbean country of Suriname, just 15 percent of women go into higher education in this nation of over 500, 000 people. But this is way higher than the 9 percent of men who do, landing Suriname in the fifth spot on our top 10 list.
6: VENEZUELA
While the South American nation of Venezuela struggles with dropping oil prices that has sent its economy into a rough patch, its female citizens are definitely moving on up the education ladder. A cumulative 99 percent go into tertiary education compared to 58 percent of men in this country of over 30 million.
7: BELIZE
The Central American CARICOM nation of Belize takes the number 7 spot for better educated. Women in the nation of over 311,000, outnumber men by 1.68 times in tertiary education.
8: CUBA
Coming in at number 8th is the Communist Caribbean island of Cuba. Here in this island of over 11 million, which continues to struggle with a US trade embargo, 60 percent of female Cubans continue their education once school is over.
9: THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
In a country of over 10 million, more than 57 percent of women in this Spanish Caribbean nation go into tertiary education. That’s compared to just 36 percent of men.
10: ARGENTINA
Out of a population of over 41 million, a massive 98 percent of Argentine women have some form of tertiary education. That’s more than one and a half times the number of men.
