Saudi spends most on education

Of the Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia spends the most on education while Bahrain spends the least, a recent report by Arqam revealed.

The study found that Saudi spends 24.6 per cent of its total public expenditure on education, the UAE 21.1 per cent while Bahrain spends 8.5 per cent.

The Gulf region has witnessed an increase in the demand for high-quality education, as well as an increase in the number of investors in the education sector.

The number of students in the Gulf region is expected to increase from about 10.2 million students in 2011 to 11.6 million students this year, marking a compound annual growth rate of 2.7 per cent.

Gulf governments have allocated massive amounts of money to cope with the steady rise in the number of young people, through spending on education, health care, housing and infrastructure.