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

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, Guatemala's expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education) fell 0.88 percentage points on 2017 (from 56.47% to 55.6%).

Across the 13 yearly changes before that (1971 to 2017), the average change was −0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.1 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 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 5.55 percentage points in 2016 and the biggest yearly fall was 5.16 percentage points in 2007. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2010 to 2018 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains less than 1% of the movement over 9 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 2018, Guatemala had the 4th highest value of the 23 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 Guatemala in the 2018 ranking

• Guinea — 1st of 23: 61.65%
• Lesotho — 2nd of 23: 55.96%
• Côte d'Ivoire — 4th of 23: 47.29%
• El Salvador — 5th of 23: 46.16%
• South Africa — 6th of 23: 38.75%

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 19 values

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

• Argentina — 29.59% (2017)
• Aruba — 27.53% (2016)
• Barbados — 29.61% (2016)
• Belize — 31.38% (2017)
• Brazil — 25.62% (2015)
• British Virgin Islands — 29.86% (2017)
• Chile — 27.91% (2017)
• Colombia — 32.71% (2018)

More education data for Guatemala

• 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 — 2.42 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 101.49% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 100.56% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 102.4% (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 122,362 (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 1.13 million (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

55.6% in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is down 3.5 percentage points from 59.1% in 1970. The highest value was 67.15% in 2006 and the lowest 49.13% in 2014.

How does Guatemala rank?

4th highest of 23 economies with data for 2018.

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

In 2018, Guatemala's expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education) fell 0.88 percentage points on 2017 (from 56.47% to 55.6%). Across the 13 yearly changes before that (1971 to 2017), the average change was −0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.1 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 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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