Around the world, the people who are able to complete more years of schooling tend to live healthier and longer lives, regardless of their country’s level of development. Schooling develops basic cognitive functions like reading, writing, and communicating, and can help people think logically, critically analyse data, solve problems, and put planning into practice. Higher education is often the key to stable and well-paid jobs, which in turn help pay for nutritious food, better-quality housing, and high-quality medical care. In addition, education can promote healthy lifestyles; highly-educated people tend to use their knowledge and skills to access information that helps them avoid health-related risks and adopt behaviour such as quitting smoking, reducing alcohol intake, and getting physical exercise. In addition, education can provide socio-psychological resources that aid health and extend longevity. Investing in education systems improves health at the population level and education rates generally, and literacy rates have been increasing worldwide. One reason for this is the better nutrition and disease prevention that prolong lives, while also lowering student absences and raising enrolment rates and completion levels – though rates of schooling vary tremendously by region.

For example, people in North America, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Australia, New Zealand and most of western Europe and Scandinavia generally complete about 13 years of schooling. Meanwhile people in most of Central and parts of South America complete about seven years of schooling, and people in sub-Saharan African complete about four years. These early education gaps translate to troubling gaps during adulthood. The OECD survey of adult skills found that countries where people have relatively more years of schooling also have higher general rates of numeracy and literacy, and more prevalent problem-solving skills among adults (and correspondingly higher wages). Fortunately, life-long learning is now more accessible than ever. Online and hybrid models abound, with millions of students having been enrolled in online classes even before the advent of COVID-19. These help re-skill workers as job markets change; research indicates that training for older learners enhances their self-efficacy, strengthens cognitive and emotional capacities, and has immediate relevance. Since schooling around the world tends to be largely financed with public resources, governments anticipating greater longevity should be cognizant of the importance of continuing education in helping people live longer, healthier lives.

‘Roughly half the world’s population still lives on the equivalent of about US$2 a day with global unemployment rates of 5.7% and having a job doesn’t guarantee the ability to escape from poverty in many places. This slow and uneven progress requires us to rethink and retool our economic and social policies aimed at eradicating poverty. A continued lack of decent work opportunities, insufficient investments and under-consumption lead to an erosion of the basic social contract underlying democratic societies: that all must share in progress. Even though the average annual growth rate of real GDP per capita worldwide is increasing year on year, there are still many countries in the developing world that are decelerating in their growth rates and moving farther from the 7% growth rate target set for 2030. As labor productivity decreases and unemployment rates rise, standards of living begin to decline due to lower wages. Sustainable economic growth will require societies to create the conditions that allow people to have quality jobs that stimulate the economy while not harming the environment. Job opportunities and decent working conditions are also required for the whole working age population. There needs to be increased access to financial services to manage incomes, accumulate assets and make productive investments. Increased commitments to trade, banking and agriculture infrastructure will also help increase productivity and reduce unemployment levels in the world’s most impoverished regions.’