In the past 20 years, the world has experienced a rise in educational levels. Lack of basic education and low levels of literacy of adults continue to inhibit the development process in every area. The world community has a special responsibility to ensure that all children receive an education of improved quality and that they complete primary school.
Education is an indispensable tool for the improvement of the quality of life.
However, it is more difficult to meet educational needs when there is rapid population growth. Education is also a means to enable the individual to gain access to knowledge, which is a precondition for coping, by anyone wishing to do so, with today's complex world. The reduction of fertility, morbidity and mortality rates, the empowerment of women, the improvement in the quality of the working population and the promotion of genuine democracy are largely assisted by progress in education. The integration of migrants is also facilitated by universal access to education, which respects the religious and cultural backgrounds of migrants. The relationship between education and demographic and social changes is one of interdependence.