Afghanistan: Expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education)

Key figures

Over five years it is down 14.92 percentage points from 59.11% in 2012. Since 1971 it is up 17.65 percentage points from 26.54% in 1971. The World Bank has no value for 32 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2017, Afghanistan's expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education) rose 0.89 percentage points on 2016 (from 43.3% to 44.19%).

Across the 10 yearly changes before that (1980 to 2016), the average change was −1.84 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.73 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 3.7 percentage points in 1980 and the biggest yearly fall was 13.39 percentage points in 2016. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2010 to 2017 the straight-line trend is downward, about 2.7 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 75% of the movement over 8 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2017, Afghanistan had the 5th highest value of the 14 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Afghanistan in the 2017 ranking

• Niger — 2nd of 14: 48.12%
• Mali — 3rd of 14: 44.67%
• Vanuatu — 4th of 14: 44.64%
• Cabo Verde — 6th of 14: 38.09%
• San Marino — 7th of 14: 34.44%
• Mongolia — 8th of 14: 32.22%

What this measures

Expenditure on primary education is expressed as a percentage of total general government expenditure on education. General government usually refers to local, regional and central governments.

Limitations: Data disaggregated by level of education are estimates in some instances. It is often difficult to separate lower from upper secondary education expenditure, or pre-primary from primary.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.

All 15 values

Expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education) in nearby economies

• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 33.07% (2018)
• Israel — 38.91% (2016)
• Malta — 24.27% (2015)
• Pakistan — 31.05% (2015)

More education data for Afghanistan

• Primary school starting age (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 13 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 7.51 million (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 112.23% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 97.87% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 125.93% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 0.67 (2019)
• Primary education, pupils (% female)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Afghanistan's expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education)?

44.19% in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1971?

It is up 17.65 percentage points from 26.54% in 1971. The highest value was 62.14% in 2010 and the lowest 26.54% in 1971.

How does Afghanistan rank?

5th highest of 14 economies with data for 2017.

Is the latest change in expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education) unusual for Afghanistan?

In 2017, Afghanistan's expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education) rose 0.89 percentage points on 2016 (from 43.3% to 44.19%). Across the 10 yearly changes before that (1980 to 2016), the average change was −1.84 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.73 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.XPD.PRIM.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://uis.unesco.org/bdds, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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