In the 21st century, the rapid pace and complexity of economic, technological and cultural changes require women and men to adapt and re-adapt throughout their lives--all the more so in the context of globalisation. In this era of the knowledge society--where production structure is shifting towards greater knowledge use and away from reliance on physical capital, manufacturing and agricultural production--growth in personal, national and regional incomes is increasingly defined by the ability to create, manage, disseminate and innovate in knowledge production. The new information and communication technologies (ICTs) intensify the rate of exchange of information. They also allow users to participate actively in virtual networks that can easily be mobilised to shape public opinion. The critical role of adult education in the development of society has long been recognised. Since the First International Conference on Adult Education in 1949, UNESCO member states have dedicated themselves to ensuring that adults are able to exercise the basic right to education. Over the course of these 60 years the landscape of adult education has evolved. This "Global Report" aims to describe the current position. First it sets out to document trends in key areas of adult education at the global level, intended to serve as a reference document for policymakers, practitioners and researchers. Second, it provides an advocacy tool to promote the importance of adult education as well as to share effective practice. Finally, as one of the key inputs to CONFINTEA VI, it will provide evidence to support the outcome document of the meeting. Appended are: (1) Laws or policies on adult learning and education, as reported in National Reports prepared for CONFINTEA VI; (2) Estimated educational attainment of the population aged 25 years and older for countries with available data by region, sub-region and income group, latest year available; (3) Proportion of adults aged 16 to 65 participating in organised forms of adult learning and education during the year preceding the interview, by country groupings and various classification variables, multiple sources and (1994-2003); (4) Classification of regions and countries by EFA Development Index (EDI), 2006; (5) Actual versus recommended expenditure on adult education; and (6) Estimated adult literacy rate and number of adult illiterates for countries with available data, by region, sub-region and income group, latest year available within two reference periods (1988-1997 and 1998-2007). (Contains 6 figures, 20 tables, 37 boxes, and 8 online resources.