OECD data for 2023 published by the Central Bureau of Statistics on Thursday highlights a significant gap in Israel’s education system: Israel allocates 7.1% of its GDP to education, compared to an average of 5.3% in OECD countries, yet expenditure per student is lower than the average at almost all stages of education.

In early childhood education, the gap is particularly large: $7,104 per child in Israel compared to $13,904 in developed countries. In higher education, expenditure per student is about 35% lower, and the share of private funding is significantly higher.

According to the data, Israel is one of the countries that invests the highest proportion of its gross domestic product in education, but when examining how much money is invested in each student, the picture changes significantly.

In primary education, the picture is slightly different, with Israel investing $13,945 per student, compared to an average of $13,639 in developed countries.

In secondary education, gaps widen again. Expenditure per student in Israel stood at $12,798, compared to an average of $14,994.

In academia, expenditure per student in Israel stood at $14,966, compared to an average of $22,878.

How much is invested in each student?

A central explanation for the gap between high investment relative to GDP and low expenditure per student is Israel’s demographic structure. According to the data, in 2023, those aged 0 to 24 constituted about 43% of Israel’s population, compared to an average of 28.6% in developed countries. As a result, even when Israel allocates a relatively high share of its GDP to education, the budget is divided among a larger number of pupils and students.

In 2023, the share of public funding for educational institutions in Israel, excluding pre-primary education, stood at 79.9%, compared to an average of 82.9% in OECD countries. In primary and secondary education, including pre-academic preparatory programs, the rate of public funding in Israel stood at 90.5%, identical to the OECD average.

The transition to higher education is completely different. In Israel, the share of funding from private sources reached 58.6% of total expenditure, compared to an average of just 32.9%. For comparison, in the UK, private funding stood at 78.2%, and in Australia at 66.1%, while in Norway, private funding was just 8.8%, and in Luxembourg, 11.7%.

Government expenditure per student in Israel, according to the overall index presented in the data, stood at $10,913, compared to $13,599. In primary, secondary, and pre-academic preparatory educational institutions, government expenditure in Israel stood at $12,064 per student, compared to an average of $13,227 in OECD countries.

Here, too, the gap in higher education is large. Government expenditure per student in Israel stood at $6,202, compared to an average of $15,960 in OECD countries. In other words, government expenditure in Israel is about 61% lower than the average.

Alongside this, broken down by educational stage, Israel allocated a combined 4.9% of GDP to primary, secondary, and pre-academic preparatory education, compared to 3.3% in developed countries. In higher education, however, the expenditure rate in Israel stood at 1.3% of GDP, lower than the OECD average of 1.4%.

The data shows that on the one hand, Israel invests a high percentage of its GDP in education, demonstrating the overall scope of resources directed to the system. On the other hand, low investment per student in early childhood, secondary, and higher education raises questions regarding the scope of resources available to educational institutions.