Indicator 41: Current Public Expenditure on Education as a Percentage of Total Public Expenditure

The magnitude of each country's current /* public expenditure on education as a percentage of the government's total public expenditure is a rough indicator of the relative importance accorded to education among each country's public sector activities. Some of the variation in the share of total public spending allocated to education reflects differences among countries in the division of responsibility for financing education between the public and private sector. In most countries, public revenues provide virtually all the money spent on education. Exceptions include countries such as the United States and Japan, where 20 to 25 percent of educational funding comes from private sources. The indicator is also affected by the total amount of public expenditure, such as public expenditures for defense or social benefits. Differences among countries in the distribution of educational expenditures by education level reflect differences in national educational goals and strategies. For example, some countries are more likely to make early childhood education widely available and inexpensive, while others devote relatively more resources to higher education.

Sidebar: Private spending plays a role in education financing

• In 1992, the United States and Canada devoted a greater share of their public expenditure to education (around 13 percent) than any of the other G-7 countries. In the remaining G-7 countries, the corresponding percentages ranged from 6 percent (former West Germany) to 11 percent (United Kingdom). Among all of the countries reported, Hungary spent the highest share of its public expenditure on education (11 percent).

• The share of public funds devoted to higher education varied a great deal among the G-7 countries, as it did among the other countries reported. Of the G-7 countries, the United States and Canada distributed the highest percentages of total public expenditure to higher education (3 and 5 percent, respectively), while Japan distributed the lowest (under 1 percent).

• None of the G-7 countries devoted a larger share of their public budget to primary and secondary school education than did the United States (9 percent). In all countries with available data, the share of public expenditure devoted to preprimary through secondary education ranged from 4 percent in the former West Germany to 11 percent in Hungary and Switzerland.

Table 41: Current public expenditure on education as a percentage of total public expenditure, by level of education and country: 1992

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	          		Primary and			Higher	Undistributed/	
Country			Preprimary	Secondary	education	other		Total
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G-7
Canada			-		8.5		5.1		0.0		13.6
France                  1.1             6.6             1.6             0.5              9.7
West Germany (former)   0.3             4.1             1.7             0.2              6.3
Italy                   -               6.1             1.1             0.0              7.2
Japan                   0.3             7.2             0.8             1.2              9.6
United Kingdom		-		8.9		2.3		-		11.2
United States           0.5             9.2             3.2             -               12.9
Other
Australia		0.1		7.8		3.9		-		11.9
Austria                 -               6.4             1.9             -                8.3
Belgium                 -               5.9             1.5             -                7.4
Czech Republic		-		8.5		2.0		0.0		10.5
Denmark			1.5		6.7		1.8		0.2		10.2
Finland			1.1		7.5		3.0		1.0		12.6
Hungary                 2.2            11.1             3.8             0.3             17.4
Netherlands             0.5             4.9             2.3             0.4              8.1
Norway			1.3		8.7		2.2		0.7		13.0
Sweden			1.6		6.9		1.5		0.0		10.1
Switzerland             1.7            11.0             2.8             -               13.8
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-Not applicable or available.

NOTE: See supplemental note to Indicator 41 for details on indicator calculation for Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, the former West Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom and for information regarding methodology used for adjusting inflation rates.

SOURCE: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Center for Educational Research and Innovation, International Indicators Project, 1995.

Figure 41: Current public expenditure on education as a percentage of total public expenditure, by education level and G-7 country:* 1992

*Countries are sorted in descending order by total current public expenditure on education as a percentage of total public expenditure.

SOURCE: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Center for Educational Research and Innovation, International Indicators Project, 1995.

Footnote

*/ Current expenditures are operating expenditures that are used each year for the operation of schools. They do not include capital expenditure used for providing school plant and facilities or debt service.

See supplemental notes to Indicator 41.

[Indicator 40]

[Indicator 42]