The given table provides information about the differences in the national budget allocated to education and vocational training programs and the participation rates of people aged 18-24 in 2002.
Overall, there were five countries in the survey: Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary, and Slovenia. The data indicate that a higher proportion of the national budgets used for vocational education and training programs resulted in a relatively high participation rate among young people aged 18-24. More specifically, Poland spent the smallest proportion on educational programs while the participation rate of its young people was the largest, whereas Slovenia allocated the highest proportion of its budget to the same sector, but its participation rate was comparatively low.
As shown in the table, Poland allocated only 5% of its national budget to education-related programs, yet this was accompanied by the highest participation rate, at 99%. In contrast, the figure for education spending in Slovenia was five times higher, at 25%, yet the participation rate of this age group stood at 40%. In addition, about 9% of the Czech Republic’s national budget was used for education-related programs and 27% of people aged 18-24 participated in this government initiative.
In comparison, there was a clear disparity in the national budgets for educational and vocational programs between Romania and Hungary during the same year. The Romanian government spent approximately 10% of its national budget on this sector, and about 23% of people aged 18-24 participated in these programs. Meanwhile, the corresponding figure for Hungary’s expenditure in the same sector was 3% more than that of the Romanian government’s expenditure (13%), yet the participation rate was notably high, at 34%.
