Per capital spending on education below OECD average

Israel's national expenditure on education per student is below the OECD average in purchase price parity (PPP) terms, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today in its "Selected Data from the New Statistical Abstract of Israel 2012", despite a 7.7% increase in expenditure in 2011 after a 6.7% increase in 2010. The government, local authorities, and non-profit institutions funded 78% of the expenditure for education in 2011, and households funded 22%.

Expenditure on education includes the expenditures of public and private educational institutions in all levels of education, from pre-primary through higher education, as well as households' expenditure for private lessons, textbooks, etc

According to the latest OECD data for 2009, Israel's expenditure on educational institutions is 7.2% of GDP, above the OECD average of 6.4%. However, it is necessary to take into account that the percentage of young people in the Israeli population is relatively higher than that of OECD nations, which means that Israel has a higher percentage of students but a smaller percentage of working-age residents age who can fund education.

Israel's expenditure per student in PPP terms is below the OECD average at every level of education, and widens with level. Israel's expenditure per preschooler is $3,998, compared with the OECD average of $6,051, and expenditure per student in tertiary and higher education is $11,214 compared with the OECD average of $18,801.

Health expenditure rose 4% in 2011

The national expenditure on health totaled NIS 67.4 billion in 2011, 4% more in constant prices than in 2010, and 7.7% of GDP. Private financing covered 38% of expenditure on health (including 27% spent by households on medicine and healthcare services), the health tax covered 26%, and the state budget covered 35%. 27 OECD countries spend a larger percentage on health than Israel.

In PPP terms, Israel's expenditure on health per capita was $2,046 in 2011, similar to the expenditure of Slovakia and Korea, and lower than most other OECD countries. Israel's relatively young population reduced the expenditure per capita on health in 2010.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 11, 2012