Eurostat: Cyprus first in state expenditure on education in 2008

Cyprus in 2008 recorded the highest state expenditure as a percentage of the GDP for education among the EU countries, figures released today by Eurostat show.

Cyprus' total state expenditure in 2008 reached 42.6% of GDP, compared to an EU average of 46.8%.

According to the allocation of public expenditure per sector, expenditure on education in Cyprus reached 7.8% of GDP, well over the EU 5.2% average.

However, Cyprus was last in 2008 concerning state expenditure for public health, which reached 3% of GDP, as opposed to the 5.1% EU average.

On social protection, state expenditure in Cyprus was 9.9%, the second lowest in the EU, with Latvia recording the EU lowest percentage (9.4%). The EU average on social protection state expenditure was 18.2% of GDP.