Sri Lanka: Expenditure on secondary education (% of government expenditure on education)

Key figures

Over five years it is down 3.34 percentage points from 49.09% in 2013. Since 1973 it is down 7.76 percentage points from 53.5% in 1973. The World Bank has no value for 35 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2018, Sri Lanka's expenditure on secondary education (% of government expenditure on education) fell 5.44 percentage points on 2017 (from 51.18% to 45.74%).

Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2010 to 2017), the average change was +0.37 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.57 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 5.03 percentage points in 2010 and the biggest yearly fall was 5.44 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 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 2018, Sri Lanka had the 3rd 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 Sri Lanka in the 2018 ranking

• Mauritius — 1st of 23: 62.72%
• Malaysia — 3rd of 23: 41.37%
• St. Lucia — 4th of 23: 40.27%
• Turks and Caicos Islands — 5th of 23: 39.45%

What this measures

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

• Bangladesh — 64.33% (2016)
• Bhutan — 41.49% (2015)
• Maldives — 21.61% (2016)
• Nepal — 33.32% (2015)

More education data for Sri Lanka

• Primary school starting age (years) — 5 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 5 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 10 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 8 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 1.58 million (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 91.45% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 92.09% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 90.84% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1 (2020)
• Secondary education, general pupils

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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Questions people ask

What is Sri Lanka's expenditure on secondary education (% of government expenditure on education)?

45.74% in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1973?

It is down 7.76 percentage points from 53.5% in 1973. The highest value was 53.5% in 1973 and the lowest 45.74% in 2018.

How does Sri Lanka rank?

3rd highest of 23 economies with data for 2018.

Is the latest change in expenditure on secondary education (% of government expenditure on education) unusual for Sri Lanka?

In 2018, Sri Lanka's expenditure on secondary education (% of government expenditure on education) fell 5.44 percentage points on 2017 (from 51.18% to 45.74%). Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2010 to 2017), the average change was +0.37 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.57 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.3 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.SECO.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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