Approximately one in seven people in Latin America and the Caribbean live with a disability, yet barriers and needs are often overlooked, and policies intended to foster inclusion remain understudied. This report examines the effectiveness of disability inclusion policies across education, health, labor markets, and social protection. A closer look at the realities for people with disabilities in the region reveals a much more nuanced picture of the magnitude of gaps, quality of services, and distinct challenges compared to those without disabilities.

The learning and developmental losses from pre-primary program closures due to COVID-19 may be unprecedented. These disruptions early in life, when the brain is more sensitive to environmental changes, can be long-lasting. Although there is evidence about the effects of school closures on older children, there is currently no evidence on such losses for children in their early years.

Latin America has achieved considerable progress in expanding access to education, yet significant gender disparities persist in educational outcomes. These gaps are evident in enrollment, completion rates, and performance across key subjects such as mathematics, language, and science. This study explores the multifaceted drivers of these disparities, including societal norms, family expectations, and economic conditions that differentially impact boys and girls.

Educational inequality remains a critical challenge across Latin America, with significant learning gaps persisting, particularly among students from marginalized and impoverished communities. Stark inequities in access to quality education and its academic benefits disproportionately affect disadvantaged students, perpetuating exclusion and segregation. This study leverages data from the 2019 Regional Comparative and Explanatory Study (ERCE 2019) to analyze educational outcomes, focusing on the challenges faced by students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and Indigenous communities.

The second edition of The State of Education in Latin America and the Caribbean 2024 examines the evolution of large-scale learning assessments in the region. The report begins with an overview of education based on a selection of indicators on resources, coverage, efficiency, and learning. It focuses specifically on socioeconomic inequalities. It then focuses on the evolution of learning measurement in 18 countries from the 1990s to this day, highlighting significant milestones in regional and international assessments and the design and implementation of large-scale national assessments.

We estimate sibling correlations in schooling (i.e., the fraction of inequality in educational outcomes that can be attributed to factors shared by siblings) for 94 countries, accounting for 85% of the world population. With this new database, we document several findings. On average, at least 51% of the inequality in schooling can be explained by shared family background. There are large regional differences, with North America and South Asia displaying the lowest and highest sibling correlations, respectively. There is important heterogeneity within some regions.

We estimate sibling correlations in schooling (i.e., the fraction of inequality in educational outcomes that can be attributed to factors shared by siblings) for 94 countries, accounting for 85% of the world population. With this new database, we document several findings. On average, at least 51% of the inequality in schooling can be explained by shared family background. There are large regional differences, with North America and South Asia displaying the lowest and highest sibling correlations, respectively. There is important heterogeneity within some regions.