Education spending, percent of GDP - Country rankings
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
Public spending on education, percent of GDP, 2021:
The average for 2021 based on 42 countries was 4.81 percent. The highest value was in Iceland: 8.22 percent and the lowest value was in Monaco: 1.42 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.Measure: percent; Source: UNESCO
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* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
| Countries | Education spending, percent of GDP, 2021 | Global rank | Available data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iceland | 8.22 | 1 | 1990 - 2022 |
| Sweden | 7.57 | 2 | 1979 - 2021 |
| Denmark | 7 | 3 | 1970 - 2022 |
| Norway | 6.96 | 4 | 1972 - 2022 |
| Finland | 6.54 | 5 | 1970 - 2021 |
| Belgium | 6.36 | 6 | 1975 - 2021 |
| UK | 5.9 | 7 | 1971 - 2022 |
| Moldova | 5.82 | 8 | 1996 - 2023 |
| Netherlands | 5.51 | 9 | 1970 - 2022 |
| Austria | 5.49 | 10 | 1970 - 2022 |
| Germany | 5.45 | 11 | 1993 - 2022 |
| France | 5.43 | 12 | 1970 - 2021 |
| Slovenia | 5.37 | 13 | 1991 - 2021 |
| Malta | 5.36 | 14 | 1971 - 2021 |
| Estonia | 5.26 | 15 | 1992 - 2021 |
| Cyprus | 5.24 | 16 | 1975 - 2021 |
| Ukraine | 5.14 | 17 | 1970 - 2022 |
| Switzerland | 5.04 | 18 | 1970 - 2022 |
| Spain | 4.87 | 19 | 1970 - 2022 |
| Czechia | 4.8 | 20 | 1992 - 2021 |
| Slovakia | 4.8 | 21 | 1992 - 2021 |
| Portugal | 4.78 | 22 | 1973 - 2021 |
| Bulgaria | 4.73 | 23 | 1980 - 2021 |
| Hungary | 4.68 | 24 | 1970 - 2021 |
| Poland | 4.67 | 25 | 1991 - 2021 |
| Latvia | 4.62 | 26 | 1990 - 2021 |
| Belarus | 4.61 | 27 | 1999 - 2023 |
| Lithuania | 4.25 | 28 | 1993 - 2021 |
| Italy | 4.22 | 29 | 1970 - 2021 |
| Bosnia & Herz. | 4.14 | 30 | 2014 - 2021 |
| Greece | 4.08 | 31 | 1970 - 2021 |
| Croatia | 4.06 | 32 | 2000 - 2021 |
| Russia | 3.99 | 33 | 2000 - 2022 |
| Luxembourg | 3.72 | 34 | 1970 - 2022 |
| Turkey | 3.54 | 35 | 1978 - 2022 |
| Romania | 3.32 | 36 | 1996 - 2021 |
| Serbia | 3.3 | 37 | 2007 - 2022 |
| San Marino | 3.11 | 38 | 2002 - 2022 |
| Albania | 3.02 | 39 | 1994 - 2022 |
| Ireland | 3.01 | 40 | 1971 - 2021 |
| Andorra | 2.58 | 41 | 1997 - 2023 |
| Monaco | 1.42 | 42 | 1988 - 2022 |
Definition: General government expenditure on education (current, capital, and transfers) is expressed as a percentage of GDP. It includes expenditure funded by transfers from international sources to government. General government usually refers to local, regional and central governments.
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8.22
7.57
7.00
6.96
6.54
6.36
5.90
5.82
5.51
5.49
5.45
5.43
5.37
5.36
5.26
5.24
5.14
5.04
4.87
4.80
4.80
4.78
4.73
4.68
4.67
4.62
4.61
4.25
4.22
4.14
4.08
4.06
3.99
3.72
3.54
3.32
3.30
3.11
3.02
3.01
2.58
1.42
0
2.1
4.1
6.2
8.22
Education spending, percent of GDP around the world Education spending, percent of GDP in Asia Education spending, percent of GDP in Africa Education spending, percent of GDP in North America Education spending, percent of GDP in South America Education spending, percent of GDP in Australia/Oceania Education spending, percent of GDP in the European union Education spending, percent of GDP in Sub Sahara Africa Education spending, percent of GDP in MENA Education spending, percent of GDP in South East Asia Education spending, percent of GDP in Latin America