Context
This indicator provides information on education expenditures by identifying the proportion of budgets allocated to current and capital expenditures.15 A breakdown of current expenditures is also presented.
Comparing the way in which OECD countries distribute their education expenditures among different categories gives an idea of the organization and functioning of educational institutions. This distribution is likely to be influenced by a number of factors, including compensation for teachers, the generosity of pension plans, the size of the non-teaching staff, and the different needs for infrastructure.
Budget allocation can affect the quality of services, the condition of equipment, and the ability of the education system to adapt to changes in enrolments. Both budgetary and structural decisions taken at the system level have repercussions extending into the classroom: they influence the nature of instruction and the conditions in which it is provided.
Observations
The relative share of current expenditure varied considerably from one OECD country to another in 2006 (in 2005 for Canada): from 84% in Luxembourg to 98% in Portugal at the primary, secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary level (Table B.2.1, column 1), and from less than 80% in Turkey to more than 95% in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Mexico, and Sweden at the tertiary level (Table B.2.1, column 7).
The proportions of education expenditures allocated to current expenditures were relatively high in Canada in 2005: 93% for primary, secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary, and 92% for tertiary (Table B.2.1, columns 1 and 7, respectively). Both of these figures slightly exceed the average proportions for the OECD countries (92%
and 90%, respectively).16
15. Current expenditures comprise spending on school resources used each year for the operation of schools.
Capital expenditures cover spending on assets that last longer than one year and include spending on the construction, renovation and major repair of buildings.
16. In Canada, however, expenditures for postsecondary non-tertiary education are aggregated with those for tertiary-type 5B education. This is not expected to have a substantial effect on ratios or data comparability, considering the minimal relative weight of this expenditure.
Education Indicators in Canada: An International Perspective, 2009
Chart B.2.1.1
Distribution of total expenditures on educational institutions for primary, secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary education, 2006
Note:International codes (e.g., AUS for Australia) are used here to label OECD member countries. See the “Notes to readers” for a complete list of these abbreviations and the corresponding country names.
Source: Table B.2.1.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
percentage of total expenditures
100
70 80 90
USA B.C.
Y.T.
AUS JPN Ont.
FIN CHE UKM FRA OECD DEU Can.
SWE Nvt.
N.B.
Alta.
Que.
ITA Man.
Sask.
MEX N.W.T.
N.L.
N.S.
P.E.I.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Current expenditures Capital expenditures
percentage of total expenditures
In the primary, secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary category, the share allocated to current expenditure was below the 93% for Canada in Ontario (91%), British Columbia (90%) and Yukon (90%). For tertiary, this proportion was below the figure for Canada (92%) in British Columbia (88%), Alberta (88%) and Prince Edward Island (82%) (Table B.2.1, columns 1 and 7; Charts B.2.1.1 and B.2.1.2).
Distribution of expenditures on education B2
Current expenditure may be subdivided into three broad categories:
compensation of teachers, compensation of other staff, and other current expenditures (teaching materials and supplies, regular maintenance and cleaning of school buildings, preparation of students’ meals, and rental of school facilities). The compensation of staff, particularly teachers, accounts for the largest proportion of current expenditure in all OECD countries (Table B.2.1, column 5, and Chart B.2.2). The proportion of current expenditure allocated to compensation of all staff varied from one OECD country to another in 2006: from 61% in the Czech Republic to 92% in Mexico at the primary, secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary level. At the tertiary level (Table B.2.1, column 11), figures ranged from 50% in the Slovak Republic to 80% and over in France, Iceland, and Spain. In Canada, 77% of current expenditure at the primary, elementary and postsecondary non-tertiary level was allocated to compensation of all staff in 2005; at the tertiary level, the figure was 63%. Both of these figures were below the respective averages for OECD countries (80% and 68%).
Chart B.2.1.2
Distribution of total expenditures on educational institutions for tertiary education, 2006
Note: International codes (e.g., AUS for Australia) are used here to label OECD member countries. See the “Notes to readers” for a complete list of these abbreviations and the corresponding country names.
Source: Table B.2.1.
Current expenditures Capital expenditures
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
percentage of total expenditures
Education Indicators in Canada: An International Perspective, 2009
As was the case for Canada overall, the proportion of current expenditure allocated to compensation of all staff employed in education was larger for the primary, secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary category than for the tertiary category in all provinces and in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (Table B.2.1, columns 5 and 11, and Chart B.2.2). The proportion in primary, secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary varied from 60% in the Northwest Territories to 83% in Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island; for tertiary, figures ranged from 57% in the Northwest Territories to 75% in Yukon.
In 2006, most OECD countries allocated a larger proportion of their total expenditure on education to capital expenditure in tertiary education (9.7%); this compares with 8.0% for primary, secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary education (Table B.2.1, columns 8 and 2; Charts B.2.1.1 and B.2.1.2). This difference is largely due to more diversified and advanced teaching facilities at the tertiary level, as well as the construction of new infrastructure necessitated by increased enrolments at this level.
Chart B.2.2
Distribution of current expenditures on educational institutions for primary, secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary education, 2006
Note: International codes (e.g., AUS for Australia) are used here to label OECD member countries. See the “Notes to readers” for a complete list of these abbreviations and the corresponding country names.
Source: Table B.2.1.
Compensation of all staff Other current expenditure
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
percentage of current expenditures
Distribution of expenditures on education B2
In Canada, 8.1% of education expenditure for tertiary education was allocated to capital expenditure in 2005; the OECD average was 9.7%. By comparison, 7.4% of the budget for primary, secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary was allocated to capital expenditures versus 8.0% for the OECD countries (Table B.2.1, columns 8 and 2; Charts B.2.1.1 and B.2.1.2). With the exception of Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Ontario, and the three territories, the proportion allocated to capital expenditure was generally greater for tertiary education than for primary, secondary and postsecondary non-tertiary. (Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut have few institutions at the tertiary level.)
Definitions, sources and methodology
This indicator shows the proportion of budgets allocated to current and capital expenditures at different education levels.17 It also shows the proportion of current expenditures allocated to compensation of teachers and of other staff, along with other current expenditures.
The distinction between current expenditures and capital expenditures is taken from the standard definition used in national income accounting. Current expenditures refer to resources used each year by institutions as they carry out their activities. Capital expenditures refer to assets that last longer than one year, including spending on new or replacement equipment and construction or renovation of buildings. Neither takes expenditures relating to debt service into account.18
The data refer to the 2006 financial year (2005 for Canada) and are based on the data collection on educational systems conducted jointly by three international organizations—UNESCO, the OECD and Eurostat—and administered in 2008 by the OECD. As with Indicator B1, the financial data for Canada are drawn from six Statistics Canada surveys.19
Note: The corresponding OECD indicator is B6, On what resources and services is education funding spent?.
17. Expenditures are based on accrual and cash (or fund) accounting, depending on the data source(s) used by the provinces/territories.
18. Some Canadian data sources include debt servicing, which may lead to different results.
19. Survey of Uniform Financial System - School Boards; Survey of Financial Statistics of Private Elementary and Secondary Schools; Financial Information of Universities and Colleges Survey; Survey of Federal Government Expenditures in Support of Education; Provincial Expenditures on Education in Reform and Correctional Institutions; and Financial Statistics of Community Colleges and Vocational Schools.
C1 C1 C1 C1 C1
International students
Context
This indicator covers international students. It looks at the scope of the international mobility of students in OECD countries by showing the proportion of international students at different levels of tertiary education. It also examines the change in the number of foreign students over time.
The liberalization of markets and recent economic developments have generated an increase in the demand for new forms of qualifications in OECD countries. To deal with this new reality, societies are increasingly counting on tertiary education to endow students with a better knowledge of the diversity of languages, societies, and cultures in order to expand their employment prospects in a globalized economy.
Growing recognition of the importance of tertiary education as a determinant of higher earnings and employability has led to a growing demand for this type of education, which some countries may find difficult to meet. Therefore, students may need to leave their home country to pursue an education abroad. They are generally well received elsewhere because they represent an additional funding source. Some institutions find this so attractive that they even develop recruitment strategies to attract foreign students.
Observations
Registering in a foreign educational institution to pursue tertiary education is one of the options available to students who want to get to know different cultures and societies and, at the same time, improve their employment prospects. Many OECD countries have implemented policies and programs aimed at stimulating such mobility to establish cross-cultural relations and build social networks that will be valuable in the future.
In Canada,20 about 8% of those enrolled in tertiary education were international students, a figure slightly above the average for the OECD countries for which data on international student mobility were available (7%) (Table C.1.1, column 1). With this percentage, Canada21 ranked seventh, behind Australia (20%), the United Kingdom (15%), Switzerland (14%), New Zealand (14%), Austria (12%) and Ireland (9%). In Canada, the term “international students” refers to those foreign students
20. Canadian data are for the 2006 reference year.
21. Canadian data include only tertiary-type A students and those who are in advanced research programmes (essentially university students), due to the lack of data on tertiary-type B students (essentially college students).