Press Release 26/05/2023

PUBLIC EDUCATION EXPENDITURE AND FUNDING STATISTICS 2021

Education expenditure per student in public education centres in the Basque Country increased by 13.6% between academic years 2017/18 and 2020/21

Total expenditure on public education centres during academic year 2020/21 reached 2,222 million euros

Education expenditure per student in public education centres stood at 6,795 euros in academic year 2020/21, up 13.6% compared to academic year 2017/18, according to Eustat data. The total amount of education expenditure stood at 2,038 million euros with an increase of 11.5%. When expenditure on complementary activities and services and capital expenditure is added, the total expenditure was 2,222 million euros.

The majority of the expenditure in public centres, 96.5%, was used to defray current activities, and the remaining 3.5% was spent on investments. In turn, 95% of the 2,145 million euros in current expenditure went directly on education; the most relevant chapter being that of personnel expenditure, which accounted for 91.5% of spending in this area; and 4.2% on complementary services, mainly school meals and transport.

According to education type, centres teaching general education at pre-university level accounted for 75.3% of total expenditure, whilst university accounted for 19.6%, and specialised education centres (artistic) the remaining 5.1%. No significant differences were observed between academic year 2020/21 and the preceding years.

Education expenditure per school unit in public centres stood at €112,570 for infant education, whilst €103,764 was spent on primary education. With respect to secondary education, €152,127 was spent on Compulsory Secondary Education, €208,902 on Upper Secondary Education and €176,307 and €172,208 on Intermediate and Advanced Level Vocational Training, respectively.

Education expenditure per student rose to €7,589 for Infant Education, whilst this figure was €6,561 for Primary Education. In terms of secondary education, this figure stood at €8,733 for Compulsory Secondary Education (E.S.O.), €8,582 for Upper Secondary Education, and €9,791 and €8,788 were spent per student on Intermediate and Higher Level Professional Training, respectively. As regards Arts education, which includes Languages, Music, Dance and Arts and Trades, expenditure stood at €2,181 per student. Finally, expenditure per student for university education was €8,400.

Education expenditure per unit in academic year 2020/21 grew by 13.5% compared to academic year 2017/18, practically the same increase as education expenditure per student, which increased by 13.6%, The latter also include university and arts studies whereas expenditure per unit is only calculated for the general education levels prior to university.

Education expenditure per student grew significantly in Infant Education (27.3%), Primary Education (15.4%), Compulsory Secondary Education (12.4%) and Upper Secondary Education (2.9%), while it fell by 6.3% in Intermediate Level Vocational Training In Advanced Level Vocational Training, expenditure per student also increased by 2.4%, while this remained stable in Higher education (-0.3%). Education expenditure per student in Arts Education registered an increase of 42.6% this academic year in respect of 2017/18.

The total income for public centres in academic year 2020/21 was 2,252 million euros, with 96.3% corresponding to current income and 3.7% to capital income. The main components of current income were public subsidies, which accounted for 94.1% of the total. 5.7% of current income came from private sources, mainly through education fees (2.4%) and complementary activities and services (2.6%).

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press service: servicioprensa@eustat.es Tel.: 945 01 75 62