0 1
1 Less than 50%
2 50% to 74%
3 75% to 94%
4 95% or over
5 No data

Female Genital Mutilation / Cutting in Africa

What does it mean ?

Female Genital Mutilation / Cutting (FGM / C) refers to all procedures involving partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. Prevalence of FGM / C is the percentage of all women aged 15-49 years who have undergone FGM.

Why does it matter ?

FGM / C is a violation of the rights of girls and women and is considered a form of gender-based violence. It is associated with serious adverse short and long term health consequences including pain, bleeding, infection and birth complications. Data on the practice is needed to evaluate the impact of policies and legislation and monitor progress toward elimination, which is included as a target for Sustainable Development Goal 5: to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Target 5.3: by 2030 "eliminate all harmful practices, such as early, forced and child marriage, and female genital mutilation."

How is it collected ?

Most data on FGM / C is self-reported and collected retrospectively from large scale, nationally representative surveys such as Demographic and Health (DHS) or Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS).

Unicef datasets most recent available data
http://data.unicef.org/child-protection/fgmc.html Accessed 15th August 2016

Women's Literacy

What does it mean ?

The adult female literacy rate is the percentage of women aged 15 and above who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement.

Why does it matter ?

Improving literacy and education for women not only leads to improved health and livelihood outcomes for the woman herself and her family, but has a positive impact on a nation's economy and development. The 4th Sustainable Development Goal is to ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning, with one of the stated targets being "by 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy."

How is it collected ?

Data on literacy is gathered from large scale, nationally representative surveys such as Demographic and Health (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), other national surveys and censuses.

UNESCO Institute for Statistics (June 2016 Release) based on data for 1999 - 2015 http://data.uis.unesco.org/Index.aspx?queryid=166