Education Lending Trends

The World Bank is one of the world's largest providers of external funding for education. It began supporting education in developing countries in 1963 and to date has transferred more than $US 42.5 billion in loans and credits for education. World Bank education lending has averaged roughly $2 billion annually for the last five years. In FY 08, total education lending reached $1.93 billion. This lending transferred by the World Bank to developing countries supports the development of education policies and strategies, strengthens institutions and service delivery and helps countries expand the qualitative and quantitative capacity of their education systems.

Aggregate data on World Bank lending trends in the education sector can be accessed through the Education Historical Lending Figures. Also, the World Bank’s Project Database provides access to detailed information and project documents on all World Bank projects and operations.

Below is a breakdown of World Bank Education lending trends between FY 2000 and FY 2008.

How much does the World Bank lend to education?

Fiscal Year Education New Commitments FY 00 728  FY 01 1,095  FY 02 1,385  FY 03 2,349  FY 04 1,685  FY 05 1,951  FY 06 1,991  FY 07 2,022 FY 08 1,927

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What region constituted the largest amount of lending in the education sector for FY 08?

Regional distribution of education lending

As has been the case in previous years, there was considerable variation in the distribution of education lending to the different regions in FY08. The largest amount of education lending was $695 million to the South Asia Region (SAR), accounting for 36 percent of total education lending this past year. The largest component of this lending was a $600 million IDA credit to India for the Second Elementary Education Project. The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region had the second largest amount of education lending in FY08, it totaled $525 million LCR or 27% of total lending. Of lending to the Latin America Region, $300 million was for an loan to Colombia for the Second Student Loan Support Project. One of the largest changes in terms of regional lending was the shift in lending to the Africa Region (AFR) which dropped from $707 million in FY07, or 35 percent of total lending, to $373 million, or 19 percent in FY 08.

What education sub-sector receives the most lending?

The World Bank supports holistic education reform in various manners. It continues to support Basic Education through various activities and lending. The Primary Education category of lending represented the largest percentage of World Bank education lending this past. About 26 percent of lending was categorized as General Education, the category used for projects that supports more than five sub-sectors or when no sub-sector is appropriate. It is estimated that about half of the General Education lending was for Basic Education. The Bank’s focus on post-basic education was also strong in FY 08 with lending to Tertiary Education accounting for 25 percent of total World Bank lending in the sector.

Below is an overview of past education lending trends by education sub-sector including total amount of lending and percentage of total lending. Additionally, a breakdown of FY 08 education sub-sector lending by region is provided below.

FY 2009  |  FY 2007 |  FY 2006 |  FY 2005 |  FY 2004 |  FY 2003