§ Mr. David Youngasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what percentage of the gross national product was allocated to education spending in each of the last 10 years; and how this compares with each of the other EEC 805W countries, Japan and the United States of America.
§ Mr. Mark CarlisleEducation expenditure in the United Kingdom as a percentage of the gross national product (measured at market prices) in each of the last 10 years was as follows:
1969–70 5.0 1970–71 5.2 1971–72 5.3 1972–73 5.6 1973–74 5.6 1974–75 6.2 1975–76 6.4 1976–77 6.1 1977–78 5.6 1978–79 5.6 (provisional) Education expenditure in each of the other EEC countries, Japan and the United States of America as a percentage of their gross national products—measured at market prices—for the latest year for which the United Nations has published such data was as follows:
Other EEC countries:
Belgium 1976 6.2 Denmark 1975 8.2 France 1976 5.8 Germany (FR) 1975 5.2 Ireland 1976 6.2 Italy 1975 5.0 Luxembourg 1973 5.2 Netherlands 1975 8.7 Japan 1975 6.0 United States of America 1976 5.5 International comparisons of total educational expenditure as a percentage of GNP will not in all cases be valid. Differences between the methods of accounting for education and vocational training would need to be taken into consideration before inferences could be drawn from such comparisons.