National Education Spending Declines 9% Per Capita Over Three Years
Translated & summarized from Calcalist by baba
National spending on education in Israel decreased by 9.2% per capita in real terms over the last three years, reaching 7.6% of GDP in 2025. Real education expenditure fell by 2.2% in 2025, following a 1.2% drop in 2024. This decline occurred despite coalition efforts to increase funding for Haredi education.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- National education spending per capita in Israel fell 9.2% in real terms over three years.
- Total national education expenditure was 162.6 billion shekels in 2025, 7.6% of GDP.
- Real education spending decreased 2.2% in 2025 and 1.2% in 2024.
- Per capita spending dropped 3.5% in real terms in 2025 and 2.6% in 2024.
- The decline occurred during coalition efforts to boost Haredi education funding.
National spending on education in Israel has seen a significant decline over the past three years, according to data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics for 2025. In 2025, total national education expenditure reached 162.6 billion shekels at current prices, representing 7.6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This marks a decrease from 8% of GDP in 2021.
Expenditure in real terms fell by 2.2% in 2025, following a 1.2% drop in 2024. This contrasts sharply with the period of 2021-2022, when real education spending increased by 14.1%. Over the last three years, however, real spending has decreased by 3.5%.
Per capita education spending also experienced a downturn. In 2025, it decreased by 3.5% in real terms, building on a 2.6% decline in 2024. Between 2021 and 2022, per capita spending had risen by 10.3% in real terms, but over the subsequent three years, it has fallen by a total of 9.2%.
This reduction in overall education spending occurred amidst persistent efforts by the ruling coalition to allocate substantial funds towards Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) education.
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