The educational indicators in this publication represent the consensus of professional thinking on how to measure the current state of education internationally. This year's edition brings the comparative review of educational systems to the end of the 1990s so that for the first time the indicators of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) cover a complete decade. This edition includes new indicators on the contribution of education to changes in economic growth, trends in public and private payments for education as well as public subsidies for education and their beneficiaries, and participation in skill improvement by the employed population. It also contains indicators about the incentive structures governments use to attract and retain qualified teachers, the use of information technology in education, and trends in student achievement and inequality in literacy skills. Indicators are grouped into these chapters: (1) "Context of Education"; (2) "Financial and Human Resources Invested in Education"; (3) "Access to Education, Participation, and Progression"; (4) "The Learning Environment and Organisation of Schools"; (5) "Individual, Social and Labour Market Outcomes of Education"; and (6) "Learning Outcomes of Education." Three appendixes contain graphs and charts of typical graduation ages, basic reference statistics, and sources, methods, and technical notes. A glossary is included. (Contains 109 tables and 82 charts.) (SLD)