In the global effort to achieve Education for All by 2015, the financing of education is a key issue for governments and donors. Reliable and comparable statistics on the sources and use of funding are needed to improve education planning, management and resource mobilization.

What is the role of the UIS?

The UIS collects education finance data through its annual education survey. This information is used by the UIS and partners to regularly assess the impact of the global financial crisis on education financing.

However, many countries are unable to produce the data required for effective monitoring and planning. In response, the UIS works with national statisticians and partners to improve the collection, analysis and use of finance indicators.

Sub-Saharan Africa is our main priority. With the support of the World Bank, we work with a growing number of countries to ensure the sustainable reporting of finance data. The following countries have participated in this capacity-building initiative: Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Rwanda and Togo.

The UIS also analyses finance data at the global and regional levels.

The following key indicators are used to monitor education finance globally:

Indicators of financing

Total public expenditure on education:

• As a percentage of GDP
• As a percentage of total government expenditure 

Indicators of spending 

• Public education expenditure per student as a percentage of GDP per capita
• Public education expenditure per student in $PPP
• More data are available in the UIS Data Centre.