Sierra Leone: Expenditure on tertiary education (% of government expenditure on education)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, Sierra Leone's expenditure on tertiary education (% of government expenditure on education) fell 12.66 percentage points on 2017 (from 59.02% to 46.36%).

Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2008 to 2017), the average change was +2.36 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.15 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 4.8 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 6.87 percentage points in 2017 and the biggest yearly fall was 12.66 percentage points in 2018. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2009 to 2018 the straight-line trend is upward, about 4.5 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 83% 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.

How it compares

In 2018, Sierra Leone had the 1st highest value of the 23 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 Sierra Leone in the 2018 ranking

• Senegal — 2nd of 23: 32.84%
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 3rd of 23: 29.39%
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 4th of 23: 28.24%

What this measures

Expenditure on tertiary 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 11 values

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

• Benin — 22.15% (2015)
• Burkina Faso — 13.65% (2015)
• Cabo Verde — 17.15% (2017)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 23.81% (2015)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 14.03% (2018)
• Ethiopia — 47.85% (2015)
• Gambia, The — 11.33% (2015)
• Guinea — 17.3% (2018)

More education data for Sierra Leone

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 12 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 2.07 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 162.12% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 166.35% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 157.95% (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 46,575 (2024)
• 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 Sierra Leone's expenditure on tertiary education (% of government expenditure on education)?

46.36% in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2007?

It is up 27.64 percentage points from 18.71% in 2007. The highest value was 59.02% in 2017 and the lowest 17.93% in 2011.

How does Sierra Leone rank?

1st highest of 23 economies with data for 2018.

Is the latest change in expenditure on tertiary education (% of government expenditure on education) unusual for Sierra Leone?

In 2018, Sierra Leone's expenditure on tertiary education (% of government expenditure on education) fell 12.66 percentage points on 2017 (from 59.02% to 46.36%). Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2008 to 2017), the average change was +2.36 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.15 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 4.8 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.XPD.TERT.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.