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

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2016, Finland's expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education) rose 0.27 percentage points on 2015 (from 20.24% to 20.51%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1983 to 2015), the average change was −0.27 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.87 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 7.45 percentage points in 1972 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.27 percentage points in 1991. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 4% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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

How it compares

In 2016, Finland had the 30th highest value of the 37 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 Finland in the 2016 ranking

• Norway — 26th of 37: 22.84%
• Slovak Republic — 27th of 37: 22.22%
• Netherlands — 28th of 37: 21.22%
• Brunei Darussalam — 30th of 37: 19.52%
• Lithuania — 31st of 37: 18.89%
• Austria — 32nd of 37: 16.6%

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 43 values

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

• Andorra — 21.42% (2018)
• Austria — 16.6% (2016)
• Belgium — 23.81% (2016)
• Cyprus — 32.75% (2016)
• Czechia — 13.24% (2016)
• Estonia — 24.97% (2016)
• Germany — 12.92% (2016)
• Hungary — 16.22% (2016)

More education data for Finland

• 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 — 360,117 (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 543,350 (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1 (2020)
• School enrollment, secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1.1 (2020)
• Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP) — 6.38% (2022)
• School enrollment, primary and secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

20.51% in 2016, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is down 16.05 percentage points from 36.56% in 1970. The highest value was 49.54% in 1976 and the lowest 18.4% in 2012.

How does Finland rank?

30th highest of 37 economies with data for 2016.

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

In 2016, Finland's expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education) rose 0.27 percentage points on 2015 (from 20.24% to 20.51%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1983 to 2015), the average change was −0.27 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.87 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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