Measuring the Economic Output of the Education Sector in the ...

Chart 2
School enrolment in Canada, by gender
thousands
3,200
2,900
2,600
2,300
2,000
1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004
Male
Female
Source: Statistics Canada, authors' calculations.
Table 1 presents annual growth rates of student enrolments. The most notable increase was
observed for enrolments in colleges and universities: 2.6% per year from 1976 to 2005. While
some of this increase was due to the demographics of the baby boomers, most of the increase
was attributable to increases in participation in college and university education among
Canadians aged 18 to 26 (Emery 2004).
Table 1
Annual growth in school enrolment in Canada, 1976 to 2005
Characteristic 1976 to 2005 1976 to 1986 1986 to 1996 1996 to 2005
percent
Total 0.4 -0.6 1.1 0.6
Male 0.2 -0.8 1.1 0.4
Female 0.5 -0.3 1.2 0.7
Grades 0 to 8 -0.3 -1.7 1.2 -0.3
High school 0.0 -1.4 1.0 0.5
College or above 2.6 4.1 1.0 2.6
Source: Statistics Canada, authors' calculations.
Table 2 presents the income-based estimates of investment in education in current dollars for
the period from 1976 to 2005. The nominal value of education services in Canada, as measured
by the impact of education on the lifetime labour income of students, is large. In 2005,
investment in education was estimated at $469.9 billion, representing about 34% of gross
domestic product (GDP) in Canada for that year.
Economic Analysis Research Paper Series - 18 - Statistics Canada – Catalogue no.11F0027M, no. 080