Definition

This indicator covers expenditure on schools, universities and other public and private institutions delivering or supporting educational services. Expenditure on institutions is not limited to expenditure on instruction services but includes public and private expenditure on ancillary services for students and their families, where these services are provided through educational institutions. At the tertiary level, spending on research and development can also be significant and is included in this indicator, to the extent that the research is performed by educational institutions.

In principle, public expenditure includes both direct expenditure on educational institutions and educational-related public subsidies to households administered by educational institutions. Private expenditure is recorded net of these public subsidies attributable to educational institutions; it also excludes expenditures made outside educational institutions such as textbooks purchased by families, private tutoring for students and student living costs.

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