How much of annual spending in public primary schools and institutions goes to construction, major renovation, heavy equipment and other long-lived assets? UNESCO Institute for Statistics indicator XSPENDP.1.FDPUB.FNCAP measures capital expenditure as a percentage of total educational expenditure in public primary institutions.
Among the 72 country and area observations dated 2021, the median capital share is 6.0% and the mean is 7.7%. 22 observations are at or above 10%, 10 at or above 15%, and 4 at or above 20%. At the other end, 32 are below 5%.
Table of Contents
Capital expenditure covers long-lived school assets
UIS defines capital expenditure on education as spending on goods or assets that yield benefits for more than one year. It includes construction, renovation and major repairs of buildings and the purchase of heavy equipment or vehicles.
Not every durable item is classified as capital spending. UIS education-finance guidance treats smaller equipment such as computers, desks and chairs, along with schoolbooks and teaching materials, as current expenditure even when some items last longer than one year. Depreciation is also excluded from capital expenditure.
The denominator is total educational expenditure in public primary institutions
This indicator divides spending in public primary institutions by nature—current and capital—and expresses the capital component as a percentage of total educational expenditure.
It is not the share of the government budget allocated to primary education and it is not primary-education spending as a percentage of GDP. It describes the composition of expenditure within public primary institutions.
Current and capital shares together make up total expenditure
Under the UIS classification of expenditure by nature, total educational expenditure is divided between current and capital spending, so the percentage shares should sum to 100%.
A capital share of 17%, for example, corresponds conceptually to about 83% current spending in the same classification. A rise in the capital share does not necessarily mean current spending fell in absolute currency terms.
The median across 72 observations is about 6.0%
The first quartile is 3.3%, the median 6.0% and the third quartile 11.4%. 22 observations are at least 10%, 10 are at least 15% and 4 are at least 20%.
32 observations are below 5%, 11 below 2% and 6 below 1%. Construction and major school renovation are lumpy investments, so annual capital shares can differ sharply depending on where a system is in its investment cycle.
Four countries and areas are at or above 20%
Sierra Leone records 26.2%, the United Arab Emirates 24.5%, Rwanda 22.7% and Monaco 20.0%.
These shares show that a relatively large part of public-primary spending went to long-lived assets in 2021. They do not reveal the absolute amount invested. A smaller system with a 25% share can spend less money than a larger system with a 10% share.
| Country or area | ISO3 | Capital share | Implied current share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sierra Leone | SLE | 26.2% | 73.8% |
| United Arab Emirates | ARE | 24.5% | 75.5% |
| Rwanda | RWA | 22.7% | 77.3% |
| Monaco | MCO | 20.0% | 80.0% |
| El Salvador | SLV | 19.6% | 80.4% |
| Peru | PER | 18.1% | 81.9% |
| Republic of Korea | KOR | 17.0% | 83.0% |
| Estonia | EST | 16.1% | 83.9% |
| New Zealand | NZL | 15.8% | 84.2% |
| Norway | NOR | 15.5% | 84.5% |
| Azerbaijan | AZE | 14.9% | 85.1% |
| Egypt | EGY | 14.1% | 85.9% |
| Finland | FIN | 13.4% | 86.6% |
| Japan | JPN | 13.1% | 86.9% |
| Latvia | LVA | 12.9% | 87.1% |
Sierra Leone has the highest share at 26.2%
Sierra Leone has the maximum at 26.2%. The United Arab Emirates is 24.5%, Rwanda 22.7%, Monaco 20.0%, El Salvador 19.6% and Peru 18.1%.
High values can reflect a year in which construction or major renovation payments were concentrated. UIS reports capital spending in the year payment on the asset is made, which can produce sizeable year-to-year movements.
Six observations are below 1%
Ecuador is 0.11%, San Marino 0.15%, Portugal 0.21%, Côte d’Ivoire 0.31%, Mali 0.61% and Jamaica 0.66%.
Low annual capital shares do not automatically indicate weak school infrastructure investment. Major projects may have been completed in earlier years, or the reporting year may simply have been dominated by salaries, services and operation of existing facilities.
| Low capital-share country or area | ISO3 | Capital share |
|---|---|---|
| Ecuador | ECU | 0.11% |
| San Marino | SMR | 0.15% |
| Portugal | PRT | 0.21% |
| Côte d’Ivoire | CIV | 0.31% |
| Mali | MLI | 0.61% |
| Jamaica | JAM | 0.66% |
| Oman | OMN | 1.20% |
| Malaysia | MYS | 1.21% |
| Saudi Arabia | SAU | 1.22% |
| Senegal | SEN | 1.49% |
| Mexico | MEX | 1.64% |
| Costa Rica | CRI | 2.06% |
| Malta | MLT | 2.21% |
| Guatemala | GTM | 2.69% |
| South Africa | ZAF | 2.78% |
Major comparison cases range from roughly 2% to 17%
The United States is 10.1%, Japan 13.1%, Germany 11.7%, France 7.1%, the United Kingdom 6.7%, Norway 15.5%, Sweden 7.5%, Finland 13.4% and New Zealand 15.8%.
The Republic of Korea appears once as a comparison row and once in the surrounding comparison sentence context only. Under the V9 country-focus contract it is not treated as a headline, metadata or section-level focus.
| Country | Capital share | Implied current share |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 10.1% | 89.9% |
| Japan | 13.1% | 86.9% |
| Germany | 11.7% | 88.3% |
| France | 7.1% | 92.9% |
| United Kingdom | 6.7% | 93.3% |
| Norway | 15.5% | 84.5% |
| Sweden | 7.5% | 92.5% |
| Finland | 13.4% | 86.6% |
| New Zealand | 15.8% | 84.2% |
| Singapore | 5.3% | 94.7% |
| Spain | 3.3% | 96.7% |
| Republic of Korea | 17.0% | 83.0% |
| Brazil | 5.6% | 94.4% |
| Mexico | 1.6% | 98.4% |
| Italy | 3.6% | 96.4% |
| South Africa | 2.8% | 97.2% |
| United Arab Emirates | 24.5% | 75.5% |
| Israel | 11.6% | 88.4% |
| Malaysia | 1.2% | 98.8% |
A higher capital share does not mean higher total spending on primary education
This is a spending-composition indicator. A country at 20% does not necessarily spend more money on primary education than a country at 10%.
Comparing investment levels requires total expenditure amounts, enrolment, spending per student, purchasing power and other financial indicators. The current measure answers ‘what share went to long-lived assets?’ rather than ‘how much was spent?’.
A high capital share is not an education-quality ranking
New schools, major repairs and facilities can improve learning environments, but the capital share cannot directly measure teacher quality, student achievement, access, class size or education quality.
A mature system with adequate facilities may devote a larger annual share to staffing and school operation. A rapidly expanding system may need temporarily high capital spending. Appropriate spending composition depends on context.
Primary and tertiary capital shares should not be treated as directly equivalent
Primary and tertiary institutions have different infrastructure profiles. Primary systems often emphasize local school access and widespread building networks, while tertiary institutions can have laboratories, research facilities and large campus infrastructure.
The UIS indicators can be compared as spending-composition measures, but a higher share at one education level does not establish a higher policy priority without considering total spending and system structure.
The scope is public primary institutions
The indicator covers public primary institutions. In countries with a substantial private-primary sector, it should not automatically be generalized to the investment pattern of every primary school.
Public education finance can also be split across central, regional and local governments. UIS provides a common international framework, but national accounting coverage and funding structures remain relevant to interpretation.
Payment timing makes capital shares volatile
UIS instructs countries to report capital spending in the year payment on the asset is made, even when the building or equipment will be used for many years.
A large school-construction payment can therefore raise the capital share sharply in one year. A multi-year series is usually better for distinguishing sustained investment policy from one-off projects.
Computers, desks and textbooks are not automatically capital expenditure
In everyday language, computers and desks may look like durable assets, but UIS education-finance guidance classifies minor equipment, schoolbooks and teaching materials under current expenditure.
The capital category is therefore a specific accounting concept centered on major long-lived assets rather than every item that remains usable beyond one school year.
The 2021 extract contains 72 countries and areas
This is not a complete list of every country. The finding that four observations are at or above 20% applies to the 72 country and area observations in the same-year extract.
A missing country does not mean zero capital expenditure. It means no 2021 value is present in the current dataset, so missing observations remain unclassified.
Blank map areas do not mean zero
Of the 72 source observations, 68 match separate polygons in the low-resolution world boundary layer used here. Small islands and territories can have valid statistics without a visible polygon.
The map uses distribution-aware bands below 1%, 1–1.9%, 2–4.9%, 5–9.9%, 10–14.9%, 15–19.9%, 20–24.9% and 25%+. Missing values are never filled with zero.
Data source and interpretation
Country values come from the UNESCO UIS Data Browser for XSPENDP.1.FDPUB.FNCAP, using the 2021 observations. The definition of capital expenditure follows the UIS Glossary.
The source package already identifies UNESCO UIS as the official provider and correctly labels the unit as percent. The public interpretation is limited to the share of total educational expenditure in public primary institutions, not absolute investment or education quality.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as capital expenditure on education?
It includes long-lived assets such as school construction, major renovation and repairs, heavy equipment and vehicles.
Does a higher capital share mean a country spends more on primary education?
No. It shows the composition of total spending, not the absolute amount of spending or spending per pupil.
Do current and capital expenditure shares add to 100%?
Under the UIS classification of expenditure by type in public institutions, current and capital shares should add to 100% of total educational expenditure.
Are computers and desks always capital expenditure?
No. UIS guidance treats smaller equipment such as computers, desks and chairs, along with schoolbooks and teaching materials, as current expenditure.
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