Investing in education is the smart thing to do because education gives people the skills they need to help themselves out of poverty and into prosperity.

■ Improved Health: With education, people are better prepared to prevent disease and to use health services effectively.

For example, young people who have completed primary education are less than half as likely to contract HIV as those with little or no schooling. Educated mothers have healthier children.

■ Higher wages and economic growth: In many poor countries, with each additional year of schooling, people earn 10% higher wages. These earnings, in turn, contribute to national economic growth. No country has ever achieved continuous and rapid growth without reaching an adult literacy rate of at least 40%.

■ Democracy and political stability:

Education supports the growth of civil society, democracy, and political stability, allowing people to learn about their rights and acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to exercise them.