As a large middle-income country, Brazil has several underdeveloped regions. Its education system is accordingly plagued by many deficiencies and social and regional disparities.
As of 2006:
Literacy rate of 90.2% for people age 15 or older
7.2 years of formal education, on average.
8.4 years for white people, 6.1 years for black people
5.1 years in the Northeast versus 7.2 years in the Southeast and 6.9 years in the South.
As of 2006:
The nation invests 4.3% of GDP on education. The federal government aims to gradually increase this number to 7%.
As of 2008:
Literacy rate of 97.5% for people age 6 to 14
Literacy rate of 84.1% for people age 15 to 17
Literacy rate of 92.0% of Brazil.
The Brazilian education level is considered low compared to developed countries, especially in public schools, despite its being high in many of their private counterparts.