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

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2015, Benin's expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education) rose 0.87 percentage points on 2014 (from 48.94% to 49.81%).

Across the 12 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2014), the average change was −0.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.61 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 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 7.22 percentage points in 2006 and the biggest yearly fall was 5.23 percentage points in 2005. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2006 to 2015 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.85 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 66% of the movement over 9 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 2015, Benin had the 5th highest value of the 12 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 Benin in the 2015 ranking

• Burkina Faso — 1st of 12: 57.87%
• Gambia, The — 2nd of 12: 55.84%
• Nepal — 3rd of 12: 53.77%
• Kenya — 5th of 12: 36.34%
• Luxembourg — 6th of 12: 31.6%
• Pakistan — 7th of 12: 31.05%

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

• Burkina Faso — 57.87% (2015)
• Cabo Verde — 38.09% (2017)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 47.29% (2018)
• Ethiopia — 27.45% (2015)
• Gambia, The — 55.84% (2015)
• Guinea — 61.65% (2018)
• Kenya — 36.34% (2015)
• Lesotho — 55.96% (2018)

More education data for Benin

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 12 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 2.4 million (2022)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 108.04% (2022)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 103.91% (2022)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 112.06% (2022)
• Primary education, teachers — 59,742 (2022)
• School enrollment, tertiary (% gross) — 10.24% (2022)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

49.81% in 2015, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is down 1.57 percentage points from 51.37% in 2000. The highest value was 57.47% in 2009 and the lowest 45.97% in 2005.

How does Benin rank?

5th highest of 12 economies with data for 2015.

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

In 2015, Benin's expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education) rose 0.87 percentage points on 2014 (from 48.94% to 49.81%). Across the 12 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2014), the average change was −0.06 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.61 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 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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