OECD members: Government expenditure per student, tertiary (% of GDP per capita)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2016, OECD members' government expenditure per student, tertiary (% of GDP per capita) fell 2.34 percentage points on 2015 (from 27.75% to 25.41%).

Across the 17 yearly changes before that (1999 to 2015), the average change was −0.31 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.64 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations below 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 2.42 percentage points in 2009 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.19 percentage points in 2000. 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 2% 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.

What this measures

Government expenditure per student is the average general government expenditure (current, capital, and transfers) per student in the given level of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP per capita.

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

All 19 values

Government expenditure per student, tertiary (% of GDP per capita) in nearby economies

• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 24.16% (2017)
• Israel — 18.18% (2016)
• Malta — 44.4% (2015)
• Tunisia — 54.74% (2015)

More education data for OECD members

• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 91.38 million (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 6.28 million (2024)
• Primary education, teachers (% female) — 81.25% (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 116.41 million (2024)
• Secondary education, teachers — 8.66 million (2024)
• Persistence to last grade of primary, total (% of cohort) — 94.07% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1 (2020)
• School enrollment, primary and secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI)

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Questions people ask

What is OECD members's government expenditure per student, tertiary (% of GDP per capita)?

25.41% in 2016, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1998?

It is down 7.65 percentage points from 33.06% in 1998. The highest value was 33.06% in 1998 and the lowest 23.9% in 2005.

Is the latest change in government expenditure per student, tertiary (% of GDP per capita) unusual for OECD members?

In 2016, OECD members' government expenditure per student, tertiary (% of GDP per capita) fell 2.34 percentage points on 2015 (from 27.75% to 25.41%). Across the 17 yearly changes before that (1999 to 2015), the average change was −0.31 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.64 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations below 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.TERT.PC.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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