Turkey spent nearly $42 billion on education in 2016, data shows

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

Turkey’s total expenditure on education rose 18.9 percent in 2016 from the previous year to $41.95 billion, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) stated on Dec. 19.

Expenditure on education as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) increased to 6.2 percent in 2016 from 5.8 percent in 2015, according to the data.

In 2016, some 74.2 percent of expenditure was by the state, while private households accounted for the remaining 18.8 percent.

Tertiary education accounted for 29.8 percent ($8.17 billion) of the public sector’s total education expenditure, while 28.1 percent ($7.69 billion) was for primary education.

Private institutions, meanwhile, allocated 43.3 percent ($3.02 billion) of total spending for tertiary education and 32.6 percent ($2.28 billion) for upper secondary education.

Education expenditures in 2016 increased most in upper secondary education with 31.6 percent, followed by tertiary education at 20.3 percent.

Education expenditure per student in the country reached $1,942, rising 16.7 percent from the previous year’s $1,664. The highest level of expenditure per student in 2016 was for tertiary education at $3,703.

Around 190 million schoolbooks were delivered free of charge in September 2017 alone in Turkey, where children receive 12 years of elementary education free.