Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income): Current education expenditure, tertiary (% of total expenditure in tertiary public institutions)

Key figures

Over five years it is down 0.3 percentage points from 96.65% in 2018. Since 2002 it is down 0.93 percentage points from 97.28% in 2002. The World Bank has no value for 8 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2023, Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)'s current education expenditure, tertiary (% of total expenditure in tertiary public institutions) fell 0.79 percentage points on 2022 (from 97.14% to 96.35%).

Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2007 to 2022), the average change was +1.31 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.35 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 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 6.09 percentage points in 2007 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.9 percentage points in 2019. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2023 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.34 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 51% of the movement over 9 observed years.

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

What this measures

Current expenditure is expressed as a percentage of direct expenditure in public educational institutions (instructional and non-instructional) of the specified level of education. Financial aid to students and other transfers are excluded from direct expenditure. Current expenditure is consumed within the current year and would have to be renewed if needed in the following year. It includes staff compensation and current expenditure other than for staff compensation (ex. on teaching materials, ancillary services and administration).

Limitations: The indicator depends on comprehensive and accurate data regarding government expenditure by type and nature of spending. In some cases, data on total government expenditure on education only includes the Ministry of Education, excluding other ministries that may also allocate part of their budget to educational services.

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

All 14 values

Current education expenditure, tertiary (% of total expenditure in tertiary public institutions) in nearby economies

• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 91.7% (2022)
• Israel — 82.62% (2022)
• Malta — 75.74% (2022)

More education data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)

• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 55.17 million (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 2.79 million (2024)
• Primary education, teachers (% female) — 77.53% (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 57.82 million (2024)
• Secondary education, teachers — 3.86 million (2024)
• Secondary education, teachers, female — 2.26 million (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)'s current education expenditure, tertiary (% of total expenditure in tertiary public institutions)?

96.35% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2002?

It is down 0.93 percentage points from 97.28% in 2002. The highest value was 97.28% in 2002 and the lowest 89.01% in 2006.

Is the latest change in current education expenditure, tertiary (% of total expenditure in tertiary public institutions) unusual for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.XPD.CTER.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API. 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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