With quality of education

Almost two-thirds of Saudis are satisfied with the country’s education system, surpassing international averages in the educational development field, according to a prominent international report.

The findings, which were published in the United Nations Development Fund’s 2014 Human Resource Development Report, found satisfaction rates within the country to be higher in comparison with the 64 percent global average and the 48 percent regional average.

Countries with a high human resource development index, meanwhile, averaged a 63 percent satisfaction rate with local education systems.

The latest statistics represent a marked improvement from 2013 findings, when the Kingdom had scored lower than the international average.

The report cited a more than 87 percent literacy rate among minors under the age of 15 and a 98 percent literacy rate in the 15-24 year age bracket.

Both rates are also higher than the international average, which stand at 81.2 percent for the under15 age bracket and 87.9 percent for the 15-24 age range.

The report also cited that dropout rates from schools within the Kingdom were considerably lower than the international average. Only 1.3 percent of students have dropped out within the country compared with over 17 percent globally, 8.5 percent within the Arab world, and 3.6 percent within developing countries.

Spending on education was found to account for 5.6 percent of the country’s GDP, which is one of the highest international and regional averages since the global average is on educational spending currently stands at five percent and 5.3 percent regionally.