Europe & Central Asia: Expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education)

Key figures

Over five years it is down 1.61 percentage points from 24.45% in 2011. Since 2007 it is down 1.48 percentage points from 24.32% in 2007.

What the numbers say

In 2016, Europe & Central Asia's expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education) fell 0.95 percentage points on 2015 (from 23.79% to 22.84%).

Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2008 to 2015), the average change was −0.07 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.16 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations below 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 1.37 percentage points in 2013 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.46 percentage points in 2012. 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 downward, about 0.23 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 47% 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.

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 10 values

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

• Afghanistan — 44.19% (2017)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 33.07% (2018)
• Israel — 38.91% (2016)
• Malta — 24.27% (2015)
• Pakistan — 31.05% (2015)

More education data for Europe & Central Asia

• Primary education, duration (years) — 5 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 52.35 million (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 3.52 million (2024)
• Primary education, teachers (% female) — 85.99% (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 83.79 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1 (2020)
• School enrollment, primary and secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 0.99 (2020)
• School enrollment, secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Europe & Central Asia's expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education)?

22.84% in 2016, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2007?

It is down 1.48 percentage points from 24.32% in 2007. The highest value was 25.21% in 2008 and the lowest 21.98% in 2012.

Is the latest change in expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education) unusual for Europe & Central Asia?

In 2016, Europe & Central Asia's expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education) fell 0.95 percentage points on 2015 (from 23.79% to 22.84%). Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2008 to 2015), the average change was −0.07 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.16 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations below 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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