In 2022, Brazil had the biggest increase in investments in public education in at least the last ten years. This year, the country allocated R$490 billion to education, which represented an increase of 23% compared to 2021. Since 2013, spending on public education has either fallen or increased by around 2% from one year to the next .
The data comes from the Brazilian Basic Education Yearbook, released this Wednesday (13), by the Todos Pela Educação program, Fundação Santillana and Editora Moderna. The publication brings together public data on Brazilian education from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and the Ministry of Education, as well as analysis of the information.
The values refer to general government expenses, which include the three spheres: Union, states and municipalities. According to the publication, Brazilian government spending on education grew 8%, in already deflated values, in the period from 2013 to 2022, going from R$452 billion to R$490 billion.
Within the volume of spending on education, in 2022, basic education – a stage that encompasses early childhood education, primary education and secondary education – accounted for 73.8% of the total, which is equivalent to R$361 billion.
In relation to what they represent in relation to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – which is the sum of all the wealth produced by the country – expenditure on education remained stable from 2013 to 2018, reaching 5% of GDP. From 2019 onwards, expenses decreased, but returned to represent 4.9% of GDP in 2022.
For the manager of Educational Policies at Todos Pela Educação, Ivan Gontijo, the increase was driven by the New Fund for the Maintenance and Development of Basic Education and the Valorization of Education Professionals (Fundeb). Fundeb is the main financing mechanism for basic education in Brazil, bringing together resources from various taxes in addition to a supplement from the Union. Among the measures of the New Fundeb is the increase in resources transferred by the Union, which occurs gradually, starting from 10% until reaching 23% in 2026.
Another factor, according to Gontijo, is the increase in tax collection. The Constitution requires states and municipalities to apply at least 25% of their revenue resulting from taxes and transfers to the maintenance and development of education. As revenue increases, investment also increases.
“These two factors explain the growth, which is very positive news. Brazil has improved a lot in educational financing, but there are still many possibilities for improvement because we still spend, per student, a value well below the average of the richest countries and who have better learning results in Pisa [Programa Internacional de Avaliação de Estudantes]”, says Gontijo.
In comparison with other countries, the average expenditure per student on basic education in Brazil is still below. Brazil spent around US$3,500 per year in 2020, while the average among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries was US$10,900. Compared to Latin American countries, Mexico spent around US$2,700, Argentina, US$3,900, and Chile, around US$6,700.
Cost per student
Observing the costs per student of basic education, estimates from Todos Pela Educação indicate that Brazil invests, on average, R$ 12.5 thousand per student, per year, according to data from 2023. This value is higher than that of 2013, when the country invested R$8,300. In 2023, the average ranged from R$9,900, in Amazonas, to R$15,400, in Roraima.
According to the yearbook, considering the municipalities, in 2013, 45.9% of the total spent up to R$8,000 per basic education student. In 2023, the values increased and the percentage fell to just 1.7% of municipalities paying R$8,000 or less. The report attributes this increase to more redistributive financing policies, such as Fundeb.
Gontijo says that the country has the challenge of both increasing the amount of resources available for education and improving the management of this money.
“Ensure that resources are applied to the most effective educational policies that translate into more access and more learning for students. Brazil has been improving this spending trajectory and the results have been appearing, but not at the speed with which we could advance”, he emphasizes.
The Brazilian Basic Education Yearbook 2024 is available in full on the internet.
