Definition

The indicator shows direct expenditure on educational institutions in relation to the number of full-time equivalent students enrolled in these institutions. The indicator includes only those educational institutions and programmes, both public and private, for which both enrolment and expenditure data are available. Public subsidies for students' living expenses are excluded to ensure international comparability of the data.

Educational expenditure in national currency for 2006 is expressed in US dollars at PPP exchange rates. PPP exchange rates are used because market exchange rates are affected by many factors (e.g. interest rates, trade policies, expectations of economic growth, etc.) that are unrelated to the purchasing power of currencies in different countries.

Expenditure on education per student is obtained by dividing the total expenditure on educational institutions by the number of full-time equivalents students.

For more statistics on economic, environmental and social issues visit online the OECD Factbook 2010.