Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least at the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
- Article 26(1) Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted and proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly 10 December 1948

The EI Barometer provides a comprehensive report of the quality of education and respect for human and labour rights in countries around the world. It highlights key trends and emerging issues to summarise the global climate of education.

As well as examining all levels of education, from early childhood to tertiary, it explores a whole array of issues that concerns the global education sector in 2007 and beyond, such as academic freedom, gender equality, students with special needs, refugee and minority children, and child labour.

The EI Barometer is published in English, French and Spanish. It is available as standard ISO file to be burned to CD once downloaded (use e.g. Infrarecorder, an Open Source CD and DVD burner, available from http://infrarecorder.sourceforge.net/).