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Education indicators
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The fifth edition of Education Indicators in Canada: Report of the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program, available today, provides a wealth of statistical information on education.
This report covers basic trends in enrolment and graduation at all levels, as well as trends for educators and expenditures in education.
It also presents a broad statistical portrait of the school-age population and provides indicators on topics ranging from the school readiness of children aged four and five to labour market outcomes. Trends generally cover the last 10 years and are presented at the Canada level and for the provinces and territories.
As a result of recent trends in fertility rates, most jurisdictions will experience a period of decline in their pre-school, elementary, secondary and postsecondary age populations, according to the report.
For example, the population aged 5 to 14 is projected to decline by about half a million between 2001 and 2011, to about 3.7 million. The population aged 15 to 19 is projected to peak at 2.2 million in 2011, then drop between 2011 and 2021.
The population aged 20 to 24 is expected to peak at about 2.3 million in 2016 and to decrease until 2026, when it is expected to stabilize at 2.1 million.
In 2004/2005, there were about 310,000 educators in public elementary and secondary schools in Canada. The number of female educators far exceeded the number of male educators in all age groups.
Between 1997/1998 and 2004/2005, the number of students per educator declined. The student-educator ratio in public elementary-secondary schools fell from 16.6 to 15.9 at the Canada level.
Undergraduate enrolment at Canadian universities increased 19%, rising from 658,300 students to 785,700 between 1994/1995 and 2004/2005. Most of this growth has occurred since the latter part of the 1990s.
Women have constituted the majority in full-time undergraduate studies for some time, and now their enrolment at the total graduate level is equal to that of men.
The total number of full-time university educators rose by 6% between 1994/1995 and 2004/2005. But the number of full and associate professors employed in Canadian universities actually fell 6% and 5%, respectively. On the other hand, the number of educators in the "other ranks," which captures entry-level assistant professors, lecturers and instructors, jumped 41%.
Women accounted for almost one-third (32%) of all full-time university educators by 2004/2005, up from about one-quarter (23%) a decade earlier.
In the 2005/2006 fiscal year, governments spent $75.7 billion (in 2001 constant dollars) on all levels of education, representing 16.1% of total public expenditures. Health accounted for 19.9% of government spending in this same year.
Approximately two-thirds (67%) of the overall increase in total expenditures on education—public and private—occurred at the postsecondary level, as reflected in data for the period from 1997/1998 to 2002/2003.
Education Indicators in Canada is a joint venture of Statistics Canada and the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, in collaboration with the provincial and territorial departments and ministries with responsibility for education and training. It is aimed at policy makers, practitioners and the general public.
Education Indicators in Canada: Report of the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program, 2007 (81-582-XIE, free) is now available from the Publications module of our website.
For more information, or to enquire about concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Client Services (toll-free 1-800-307-3382; 613-951-7608; fax: 613-951-4441; educationstats@statcan.gc.ca), Culture, Tourism and the Centre for Education Statistics.
