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

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2016, European Union's government expenditure per student, tertiary (% of GDP per capita) fell 1.44 percentage points on 2015 (from 27.75% to 26.31%).

Across the 17 yearly changes before that (1999 to 2015), the average change was −0.26 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.45 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 1.85 percentage points in 2011 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.44 percentage points in 2000. 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 0.25 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 42% 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

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 19 values

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

• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 24.16% (2017)
• Israel — 18.18% (2016)
• Malta — 44.4% (2015)
• Tunisia — 54.74% (2015)

More education data for European Union

• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 23.26 million (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 1.89 million (2024)
• Primary education, teachers (% female) — 85.61% (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 37.39 million (2024)
• Secondary education, teachers — 3.39 million (2024)
• Persistence to last grade of primary, total (% of cohort) — 97.7% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1 (2020)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

26.31% in 2016, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1998?

It is down 5.79 percentage points from 32.1% in 1998. The highest value was 32.1% in 1998 and the lowest 23.31% in 2004.

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

In 2016, European Union's government expenditure per student, tertiary (% of GDP per capita) fell 1.44 percentage points on 2015 (from 27.75% to 26.31%). Across the 17 yearly changes before that (1999 to 2015), the average change was −0.26 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.45 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.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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