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

Key figures

Over five years it is up 6.36 percentage points from 38.32% in 2012. Since 1978 it is up 1.39 percentage points from 43.28% in 1978. The World Bank has no value for 23 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2017, Mali's expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education) rose 5.09 percentage points on 2016 (from 39.58% to 44.67%).

Across the 11 yearly changes before that (1981 to 2016), the average change was +0.46 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 7.79 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 13.19 percentage points in 2011 and the biggest yearly fall was 18.72 percentage points in 2010. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2008 to 2017 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 18% 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 2017, Mali had the 3rd highest value of the 14 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 Mali in the 2017 ranking

• Zambia — 1st of 14: 67.35%
• Niger — 2nd of 14: 48.12%
• Vanuatu — 4th of 14: 44.64%
• Afghanistan — 5th of 14: 44.19%
• Cabo Verde — 6th of 14: 38.09%

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 17 values

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

• Benin — 49.81% (2015)
• Burkina Faso — 57.87% (2015)
• Cabo Verde — 38.09% (2017)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 47.29% (2018)
• Ethiopia — 27.45% (2015)
• Gambia, The — 55.84% (2015)
• Guinea — 61.65% (2018)
• Kenya — 36.34% (2015)

More education data for Mali

• 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)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 0.91 (2020)
• Primary education, pupils — 2.97 million (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 72.8% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 69.37% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 76.15% (2023)
• Primary education, teachers — 59,920 (2023)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

44.67% in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1978?

It is up 1.39 percentage points from 43.28% in 1978. The highest value was 48.29% in 1986 and the lowest 25.28% in 2010.

How does Mali rank?

3rd highest of 14 economies with data for 2017.

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

In 2017, Mali's expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education) rose 5.09 percentage points on 2016 (from 39.58% to 44.67%). Across the 11 yearly changes before that (1981 to 2016), the average change was +0.46 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 7.79 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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