Israel among highest in education expenditure as measured against GDP — study
Israel has the highest percentage of youth population among developed countries, and despite expenditure, school classes remain larger and students study fewer days
Gavriel Fiske is a reporter at The Times of Israel
Israel’s expenditure on education as compared to GDP is among the highest in the OECD, according to the annual OECD Education at a Glance 2024 report, released on Tuesday. The report also found that Israel’s population of youth, by percentage, is the highest among OECD countries.
In 2021, Israel spent a full 6.1 percent of its GDP on education, a figure that includes public pre-schools up to funding for universities and other secondary school institutions, according to the report.
Besides Israel, only Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom invested over 6% of their GDP into education. The OECD average for the same year was 4.9%.
In 2021, Israel’s GDP was $488.5 billion, according to World Bank statistics.
A full 43.1% of Israel’s population in 2022 were youth, defined as those aged 0-24, the highest percentage in the OECD, where the average is 29.7%. The report found that Israel’s proportional youth population remained stable from 2010-2022, while the percentage of youth in OECD countries decreased.
The Israeli K-12 education system had an average class size of 28 in 2022, as compared to the OECD average of 23, and early education programs had 19 children for every 1 staff member, as compared to the OECD average of 12.
Teacher salaries in Israel, with the exception of high-school teachers, increased 9-10% between 2022 and 2023, compared to the average OECD increase of 4-7%, according to the report.
The average Israeli teacher salary in 2023 was $51,556 a year for elementary school teachers, $54,430 for middle school teachers, and $54, 525 for high school teachers. Average starting salaries were $31,049 for elementary school teachers, $31,201 for middle-school teachers, and $31,416 for high school teachers.
Israeli school principals in 2023 earned an average of $89,000 to $93,000, depending on grade level.
The Israeli school year is slightly shorter than in most OECD countries. In 2023, Israeli K-6 pupils learned for 179 days and middle and high school pupils learned for 173 days. The OECD average is 194 days for kindergarten, 183 for elementary and middle school, and 182 for high school.
In 2022, 98% of Israeli 3-5 year-olds were enrolled in a preschool. For children under three, 56.5% were enrolled in daycare or another framework, a percentage higher than the OECD average. Only four countries in the report — Israel, Norway, Denmark and South Korea — showed more than 50% participation for this age group in daycare.
The Education at a Glance 2024 report primarily includes data from 2021-2023, depending on the subject, from 35 OECD member states plus several non-member partner countries, and is available in various formats online. The report does not include data from after the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October 2023.
The report covers a huge range of subjects, primarily focusing on the economic aspects of educational systems, including how educational level affects earning potential.
In Israel in particular, the report noted that 56% of young women aged 25-34 have attained a post-high school certificate (university or otherwise) as compared to just 36% for men in the same age group, a gap that is “much wider than the OECD average” of 54% and 41%, respectively.
However, young women with a post-high school education earn on average only 69% of the wages of their male peers, compared to the OECD average of 83%. Israeli young women who are high school graduates earn 73% as compared to men, against the OECD average of 84%.
