Climate, environment, geography, and spatial education inequality in sub-Saharan Africa

Space, beyond standard urban/rural divisions, plays a leading role in the diffusion of educational inequalities. In this article, using geo-localization and Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), we analyze educational access (never-been-to-school and out-of-school rates at primary and secondary levels) and the impact of climate variables (aridity, temperature, rainfall, enhanced vegetation index) for 5,279 communities from 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. We find that space matters for educational access and negative impacts of climate variables on access after accounting for communities’ contextual backgrounds in spatial econometric models, with climate and spatial educational inequality operating more powerfully in marginalized communities. Educational policies aimed at boosting educational access should consider space-based interventions and mitigating strategies against climate change.