Archive:Government expenditure on education - 2012 results
Government expenditure on education as a ratio to GDP continues falling in 2012
Statistics in focus 25/2013; Authors: Michele MAROTTA, Maria Raquel DIAS, Martim ASSUNÇÃO, Laurent FREYSSON, Laura WAHRIG
ISSN:2314-9647 Catalogue number:KS-SF-14-0xx-EN-N
In the framework of the European System of National Accounts (ESA95), Eurostat collects data on general government expenditure by economic function according to the international Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG) – see methodological note. This publication presents detailed COFOG data on education for the EU-28, presenting data by level of education on the basis of voluntarily transmitted COFOG level II data.
Source: Eurostat (gov_a_exp)
Source: Eurostat (gov_a_exp)
Source: Eurostat (gov_a_exp)
Source: Eurostat (gov_a_exp)
Source: Eurostat (gov_a_exp)
Main statistical findings
In 2012, EU-27 total general government expenditure amounted to 49.4 % of GDP. Based on the latest available expenditure data by economic function for 2012, 5.3% of GDP was devoted to expenditure on education. Of this, the highest shares were dedicated to ‘secondary education’ at 1.9 % of GDP and ‘pre-primary and primary education’ at 1.7 % of GDP.
EU-27 general government expenditure on education at 5.3 % of GDP in 2012
General government expenditure on education amounted around EUR 680 billion in 2012 in the EU-27, or 5.3 % of GDP. The figures reported for general government should not be interpreted as an indicator of total expenditure on education in a country, as significant parts of education expenditure can also be undertaken by households and non-profit institutions serving households.
As a ratio to GDP, the highest levels of government expenditure on education among the reporting countries were found in Denmark (7.9% of GDP), Sweden (6.8% of GDP) and Cyprus (6.7% of GDP), while the lowest ratios were recorded in Romania (3.0% of GDP), Bulgaria (3.5% of GDP) and Slovakia (3.9% of GDP). As far as EFTA countries are concerned, the highest value is recorded in Iceland (8.0% of GDP).
Education had the highest weight in total government expenditure in Estonia (16.2 % of total expenditure), followed by Lithuania (15.5%) and Latvia (15.0%). Outside the Member State, Iceland recorded the highest value (16.9 % of total expenditure). The countries devoting a higher proportion of total general government expenditure to education, tend to be the ones where total general government expenditure to GDP is relatively low.
The lowest weights of general government expenditure on education in total general government expenditure were recorded in Greece (7.7 % of total expenditure), Italy and Romania (both 8.2% of total expenditure).
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP continued decreasing in 2012
As a ratio to GDP, government expenditure on education decreased slightly from 2011 to 2012, continuing the trend started in 2009. In particular, the biggest decreases in terms of GDP were observed in Romania (-1.1% of GDP), Portugal (-0.9% of GDP), Cyprus (-0.5% of GDP) and Hungary (-0.4% of GDP).
In absolute terms, the expenditure increased by EUR 5.8 billion or 0.8 percent from 2011 to 2012, mainly due to the increase of expenditure on secondary and tertiary education.
However in some country the absolute decrease of expenditure from 2011 to 2012 was significant, for instance in Romania (-27 % or RON -5 337 million) and Portugal (EUR -1 890 million or -16.8 %), due to measures undertaken to consolidate government expenditure.
‘Pre-primary and primary education’ corresponding to ISCED levels 0 and 1 and 'secondary education', corresponding to ISCED levels 2 and 3, make up the largest part of government expenditure on education in the EU-27 and in most reporting countries. In the EU-27 as a whole, these two COFOG groups together account for 68.4 % of expenditure in the COFOG division.
In 2012 in the EU-27, the share of ‘tertiary education’, corresponding to ISCED levels 5 and 6, in the division’s total expenditure stood at 16.5 %. ‘Tertiary education’ had a high weight in total government education expenditure in Finland (28.4 %), Croatia (28.2 %), Poland (27.6%), Estonia and Romania (both 26.3%).
Compensation of employees is the most important component of education expenditure
In the EU-27, ‘compensation of employees’ (wages, salaries and other related costs for teachers, professors, academic teaching staff and other staff working in education) accounted for the largest share of education expenditure in most COFOG groups related to education (60.8% of education expenditure).
Apart from ‘compensation of employees’, ‘intermediate consumption’, ‘other current transfers’ and ‘capital investments’ (for instance school buildings) are important expenditure components.
From 2011 to 2012, ‘compensation of employees’ increased by +0.9 % in the EU-27. This was mainly due to an increase in compensation of employees related to secondary education.
The other categories for which an increase from 2011 to 2012 was observed at the level of the EU-27, are intermediate consumption (+2.0 %) and ‘other current transfer’ (+4.1 %).
On the other hand, EU-27 capital investments (-3.7 pp), mainly related to pre-primary and primary education and secondary education, decreased by -3.7 % from 2011 to 2012.
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[[Category:<Government statistics>|Government expenditure on education]] [[Category:<Statistical article>|Government expenditure on education]]