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What is the exact meaning of the phrase "to an extent" in the following sentence?

A country’s future prosperity depends, to an extent, upon the quality of the education of its people.

Which one explains what the phrase means, more accurately?

  1. It reduces the importance of the quality of the education. I mean if we omit this phrase, the sentence will put more emphasis on education.

  2. It does not reduce the importance of education. It just mentions that a country’s future prosperity depends also on other things.

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It means to some extent or partially. I don't think your two senses are mutually exclusive. If the phrase were omitted, the sentence would mean that the quality of education was the only thing that the country's prosperity depended on. The intelligent reader would understand your second interpretation; that there must be other things which will also make a contribution.

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