South Africa: Government expenditure per student, secondary (% of GDP per capita)

Key figures

Since 1999 it is up 1.01 percentage points from 20.37% in 1999. The World Bank has no value for 3 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2018, South Africa's government expenditure per student, secondary (% of GDP per capita) rose 1.81 percentage points on 2017 (from 19.57% to 21.38%).

Across the 13 yearly changes before that (2000 to 2017), the average change was +0.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.54 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 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 2.1 percentage points in 2010 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.53 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.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2018, South Africa had the 8th highest value of the 18 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 South Africa in the 2018 ranking

• St. Lucia — 5th of 18: 22.74%
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 6th of 18: 22.03%
• Rwanda — 7th of 18: 21.67%
• Costa Rica — 9th of 18: 21.14%
• St. Vincent and the Grenadines — 10th of 18: 20.14%
• Colombia — 11th of 18: 17.65%

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 17 values

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

• Burkina Faso — 19.93% (2016)
• Cabo Verde — 19.66% (2017)
• Mali — 25.5% (2017)
• Mauritania — 14.17% (2016)
• Mauritius — 31.32% (2018)
• Niger — 17.14% (2017)
• Rwanda — 21.67% (2018)
• Senegal — 11.42% (2018)

More education data for South Africa

• Primary school starting age (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 14 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 5 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 7.52 million (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 101.77% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 99.21% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 104.32% (2023)
• Government expenditure on education, total (% of government expenditure) — 19.14% (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is South Africa's government expenditure per student, secondary (% of GDP per capita)?

21.38% in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1999?

It is up 1.01 percentage points from 20.37% in 1999. The highest value was 21.44% in 2011 and the lowest 15.44% in 2008.

How does South Africa rank?

8th highest of 18 economies with data for 2018.

Is the latest change in government expenditure per student, secondary (% of GDP per capita) unusual for South Africa?

In 2018, South Africa's government expenditure per student, secondary (% of GDP per capita) rose 1.81 percentage points on 2017 (from 19.57% to 21.38%). Across the 13 yearly changes before that (2000 to 2017), the average change was +0.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.54 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 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.SECO.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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