Estonia: Government expenditure per student, tertiary (% of GDP per capita)

Key figures

Over five years it is up 12.75 percentage points from 24.17% in 2011. Since 1997 it is down 1.33 percentage points from 38.26% in 1997. The World Bank has no value for 2 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2016, Estonia's government expenditure per student, tertiary (% of GDP per capita) rose 2.97 percentage points on 2015 (from 33.95% to 36.92%).

Across the 14 yearly changes before that (1998 to 2015), the average change was +0.11 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.82 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 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 7.37 percentage points in 2013 and the biggest yearly fall was 6.95 percentage points in 1998. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2007 to 2016 the straight-line trend is upward, about 1.7 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 76% of the movement over 10 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 2016, Estonia had the 8th highest value of the 30 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 Estonia in the 2016 ranking

• Norway — 4th of 30: 39.82%
• United Kingdom — 5th of 30: 37.99%
• Switzerland — 6th of 30: 37.41%
• Austria — 8th of 30: 36.24%
• Türkiye — 9th of 30: 35.28%
• Finland — 10th of 30: 33.93%

What this measures

Government expenditure per student is the average general government expenditure (current, capital, and transfers) per student in the given level of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP per capita.

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

All 18 values

Government expenditure per student, tertiary (% of GDP per capita) in nearby economies

• Andorra — 22.29% (2018)
• Armenia — 9.88% (2017)
• Austria — 36.24% (2016)
• Belarus — 17.92% (2017)
• Cyprus — 26.52% (2016)
• Czechia — 20.34% (2016)
• Finland — 33.93% (2016)
• France — 31.62% (2016)
• Hungary

More education data for Estonia

• 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 — 89,246 (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1 (2020)
• School enrollment, preprimary (% gross) — 94.31% (2019)
• Primary education, pupils (% female) — 48.52% (2017)
• Secondary education, general pupils — 63,544 (2017)
• Secondary education, general pupils (% female)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Estonia's government expenditure per student, tertiary (% of GDP per capita)?

36.92% in 2016, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1997?

It is down 1.33 percentage points from 38.26% in 1997. The highest value was 38.26% in 1997 and the lowest 17.72% in 2004.

How does Estonia rank?

8th highest of 30 economies with data for 2016.

Is the latest change in government expenditure per student, tertiary (% of GDP per capita) unusual for Estonia?

In 2016, Estonia's government expenditure per student, tertiary (% of GDP per capita) rose 2.97 percentage points on 2015 (from 33.95% to 36.92%). Across the 14 yearly changes before that (1998 to 2015), the average change was +0.11 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.82 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 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.TERT.PC.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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