Press Release 13/11/2019
In 2018 the amount of money spent on education in the Basque Country increased by 2.4%, exceeding 3,900 million euros
Total expenditure was divided between public funding (76.7%) and private funding (23.3%)
In 2018 total expenditure on education in the Basque Country increased by 2.4% compared to the previous year, according to Eustat data. In 2018 expenditure on education per inhabitant stood at 1,808 euros, up 2.1% on the previous year. Expenditure of 3,949 million euros accounted for 5.1% of GDP in 2018, one tenth less than in 2017.
The Education Account details current and capital expenditure on all educational activities (regulated and non-regulated) that have been carried out in educational institutions and in any type of centre or business, and have been funded by public or private sources.
Of the total 3,949 million euros expenditure on education, 3,806 million euros corresponded to current expenditure (96.4%), and 143 million euros corresponded to investment (3.6%). With regards to 2017, current expenditure increased by 2.0%, and investment by 11.8%.
The analysis of the 2017 data (the year for which more disaggregated data is available) shows us that 76.7% of total expenditure on education stemmed from public funding, with 23.3% coming from private funding. By functions, expenditure on educational services had the highest percentage of public funding: 83.2% compared to 16.8% of private funding.
This funding structure has remained stable in recent years, public funding constituting over three quarters of total expenditure on education in all the financial years.
In terms of classifying this expenditure by function, Educational and Training Services accounted for 81.1% of total expenditure, whereas Additional Activities (transport, school meals, student accommodation etc.), with expenditure of 258 million euros, accounted for 6.7%. This expenditure in additional activities has decreased annually by around 2% since 2015, fundamentally due to expenditure on school meals, which went from 182 million euros in 2015 to 166 million in 2017. Current expenditure is rounded off with shipments of books, school material, and other goods purchased by Households, the General Administration of the Educational System and Research and Educational Innovation, which accounted for 3.7%, 1.0% and 4.2% respectively. Gross capital formation represented 3.3% of the total and increased by 14 million euros compared to 2016.
Regarding international comparison, we analysed the latest data published by the OECD corresponding to 2016. For that year, total expenditure per pupil in educational institutions measured in Purchasing Power Parity ($) (PPP) was 12,333 in the Basque Country for all educational stages from primary through to tertiary education, placing it above Spain (9,464), the OECD average (10,502), the EU-23 average (10,688) and countries such as France (11,364), although below other countries such as Germany (12,583) and Sweden (13,693). By educational stages, the Basque Country registered expenditure of 11,439 ($) PPP per student for primary, secondary, and post-secondary Education. Expenditure per student in tertiary Education was equal to 15,753 ($) PPP. In both cases, expenditure was higher than Spanish and OECD averages, and in tertiary education expenditure was slightly lower than the 15,863 ($) PPP reached by half of the 23 countries in the European Union analysed by the OECD (EU-23).
NOTES: In this edition, the entire previous series has been revised and updated (2012 and previous years) in accordance with the last Standard Classification of Education ISCED 2011 and Education Accounts methodology: Methodology of national education accounts 2016
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