Post-demographic dividend: Expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2016, Post-demographic dividend's expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education) rose 0.47 percentage points on 2015 (from 23.34% to 23.81%).

Across the 13 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2015), the average change was −0.1 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.16 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 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 2.14 percentage points in 2013 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.93 percentage points in 2011. 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 8% 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

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 16 values

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

• Afghanistan — 44.19% (2017)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 33.07% (2018)
• Israel — 38.91% (2016)
• Malta — 24.27% (2015)
• Pakistan — 31.05% (2015)

More education data for Post-demographic dividend

• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 66.45 million (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 5.08 million (2024)
• Primary education, teachers (% female) — 83.84% (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 84.27 million (2024)
• Secondary education, teachers — 6.79 million (2024)
• Persistence to last grade of primary, total (% of cohort) — 92.46% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Post-demographic dividend's expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education)?

23.81% in 2016, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1993?

It is down 0.28 percentage points from 24.09% in 1993. The highest value was 24.82% in 1994 and the lowest 20.57% in 2012.

Is the latest change in expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education) unusual for Post-demographic dividend?

In 2016, Post-demographic dividend's expenditure on primary education (% of government expenditure on education) rose 0.47 percentage points on 2015 (from 23.34% to 23.81%). Across the 13 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2015), the average change was −0.1 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.16 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 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.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.