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

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2016, Latvia's expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education) rose 1.93 percentage points on 2015 (from 30.09% to 32.02%).

Across the 15 yearly changes before that (1999 to 2015), the average change was +0.15 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.16 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.93 percentage points in 2016 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.66 percentage points in 2001. 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 0.62 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 86% 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.

How it compares

In 2016, Latvia had the 12th 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 Latvia in the 2016 ranking

• Cyprus — 8th of 37: 32.75%
• Mexico — 9th of 37: 32.45%
• United Kingdom — 10th of 37: 32.33%
• Poland — 12th of 37: 31.7%
• Korea, Rep. — 13th of 37: 31.7%
• Seychelles — 14th of 37: 30.57%

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 18 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)
• Finland — 20.51% (2016)
• Germany — 12.92% (2016)

More education data for Latvia

• 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 — 123,956 (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 9,966 (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 123,994 (2024)
• Pupil-teacher ratio, primary — 11.54 (2017)
• Secondary education, teachers — 12,484 (2024)
• Pupil-teacher ratio, lower secondary — 7.48 (2017)
• Pupil-teacher ratio, tertiary

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

32.02% in 2016, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1998?

It is up 13.24 percentage points from 18.78% in 1998. The highest value was 32.02% in 2016 and the lowest 16.29% in 2004.

How does Latvia rank?

12th highest of 37 economies with data for 2016.

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

In 2016, Latvia's expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education) rose 1.93 percentage points on 2015 (from 30.09% to 32.02%). Across the 15 yearly changes before that (1999 to 2015), the average change was +0.15 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.16 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

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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