Out of the OECD countries, Luxembourg was the country that spent the most on educational institutions per full-time student in 2020. On average, 23,000 U.S dollars were spent on primary education, nearly 27,000 U.S dollars on secondary education, and around 53,000 U.S dollars on tertiary education. The United States followed behind, with Norway in third. Meanwhile, the lowest spending was in Mexico.

In 2022, Luxembourg was the OECD country that spent the highest amount on higher education per student, reaching roughly 35,000 U.S. dollars. This was even though it was the country that spent the lowest amount in terms of share of gross domestic product. The United States stood at 11th place, with the United Kingdom at 30th place. On the other hand, Greece was the OECD country in which the lowest amount was spent per full-time student in higher education.

In the 2024-25 school year, New York spent around ****** U.S. dollars per pupil on public elementary and secondary schools - the most out of any state. Vermont, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, and New Jersey rounded out the top five states for elementary and secondary school expenditure per pupil.

This statistic shows the expenditure of different countries on primary school education per student in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) U.S. dollars. In the USA, about 10.600 U.S. dollars is spent each year per primary school student.

The average for 2021 based on 158 countries was 4.48 percent. The highest value was in Kiribati: 14.2 percent and the lowest value was in Nigeria: 0.38 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Table 2.1.18: Expenditure by educational institution per pupil and per student by country and by ISCED education sector in relation to gross domestic product per capita

Nepal NP: Government Expenditure per Student: Tertiary: % of(GDP) Gross Domestic Productper Capita data was reported at 25.435 % in 2015. This records a decrease from the previous number of 27.810 % for 2014. Nepal NP: Government Expenditure per Student: Tertiary: % of(GDP) Gross Domestic Productper Capita data is updated yearly, averaging 47.107 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2015, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 138.253 % in 2000 and a record low of 22.839 % in 2013. Nepal NP: Government Expenditure per Student: Tertiary: % of(GDP) Gross Domestic Productper Capita data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Nepal – Table NP.World Bank.WDI: Education Statistics. Government expenditure per student is the average general government expenditure (current, capital, and transfers) per student in the given level of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP per capita.; ; United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics.; Median;

Finland Education Expenditure: Per Student: Comprehensive School Education data was reported at 8,700.000 EUR in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 8,600.000 EUR for 2015. Finland Education Expenditure: Per Student: Comprehensive School Education data is updated yearly, averaging 6,050.000 EUR from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2016, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8,700.000 EUR in 2016 and a record low of 4,000.000 EUR in 1995. Finland Education Expenditure: Per Student: Comprehensive School Education data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistics Finland. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Finland – Table FI.G005: Education Statistics.

In 2022, Norway was the country that spent the highest share of its gross domestic product (GDP) on higher education, reaching 1.8 percent. Of this, 0.1 percent came from private sources. Austria followed behind, with its total spending reaching 1.6 percent of its GDP. On the other hand, higher education spending in Luxembourg only amounted to 0.4 percent of its GDP. To find out more about the expenditure on higher education per student in selected countries worldwide, please click here.

Finland Education Expenditure: Per Student data was reported at 8,900.000 EUR in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 9,000.000 EUR for 2015. Finland Education Expenditure: Per Student data is updated yearly, averaging 6,650.000 EUR from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2016, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9,000.000 EUR in 2015 and a record low of 4,800.000 EUR in 1995. Finland Education Expenditure: Per Student data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistics Finland. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Finland – Table FI.G005: Education Statistics.

This Cost of International Education dataset compiles detailed financial information for students pursuing higher education abroad. It covers multiple countries, cities, and universities around the world, capturing the full tuition and living expenses spectrum alongside key ancillary costs. With standardized fields such as tuition in USD, living-cost indices, rent, visa fees, insurance, and up-to-date exchange rates, it enables comparative analysis across programs, degree levels, and geographies. Whether you’re a prospective international student mapping out budgets, an educational consultant advising on affordability, or a researcher studying global education economics, this dataset offers a comprehensive foundation for data-driven insights.

Description

Potential Uses

• Budget Planning Prospective students can filter by country, program level, or university to forecast total expenses and compare across destinations.
• Policy Analysis Educational policymakers and NGOs can assess the affordability of international education and design support programs.
• Economic Research Economists can correlate living-cost indices and tuition levels with enrollment rates or student demographics.
• University Benchmarking Institutions can benchmark their fees and ancillary costs against peer universities worldwide.

Notes on Data Collection & Quality

• Currency Conversions All monetary values are unified to USD using contemporaneous exchange rates to facilitate direct comparison.
• Living Cost Index Derived from reputable city-index publications (e.g., Numbeo, Mercer) to standardize disparate cost-of-living metrics.
• Data Currency Exchange rates and fee schedules should be periodically updated to reflect market fluctuations and policy changes.

Feel free to explore, visualize, and extend this dataset for deeper insights into the true cost of studying abroad!

Denmark DK: Government Expenditure per Student: Secondary: % of(GDP) Gross Domestic Productper Capita data was reported at 31.123 % in 2014. This records an increase from the previous number of 27.845 % for 2013. Denmark DK: Government Expenditure per Student: Secondary: % of(GDP) Gross Domestic Productper Capita data is updated yearly, averaging 33.530 % from Dec 1998 (Median) to 2014, with 17 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 37.265 % in 1999 and a record low of 27.845 % in 2013. Denmark DK: Government Expenditure per Student: Secondary: % of(GDP) Gross Domestic Productper Capita data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Denmark – Table DK.World Bank: Education Statistics. Government expenditure per student is the average general government expenditure (current, capital, and transfers) per student in the given level of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP per capita.; ; United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics.; Median;

In 2020, the government expenditure per tertiary student in Hong Kong was just over ** thousand U.S. dollars. Comparatively, the government expenditure per tertiary student in Bangladesh was just under *** U.S. dollars in 2020.

Time series data for the statistic Initial government funding per pre-primary student, constant PPP$ and country Finland. Indicator Definition:Total general (local, regional and central, current and capital) initial government funding of education per student, which includes transfers paid (such as scholarships to students), but excludes transfers received, in this case international transfers to government for education (when foreign donors provide education sector budget support or other support integrated in the government budget). Calculation Method: Total general (local, regional and central) government expenditure (current and capital) on a given level of education (primary, secondary, etc) minus international transfers to government for education, divided by the number of student enrolled at that level of education. This is then expressed at constant purchasing power parity (constant PPP$). Limitations: In some instances data on total government expenditure on education refers only to the Ministry of Education, excluding other ministries which may also spend a part of their budget on educational activities. There are also cases where it may not be possible to separate international transfers to government from general government expenditure on education, in which cases they have not been subtracted in the formula. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/The indicator "Initial government funding per pre-primary student, constant PPP$" stands at 10.05 Thousand usd as of 12/31/2017. Regarding the One-Year-Change of the series, the current value constitutes a decrease of -1.70 percent compared to the value the year prior.The 1 year change in percent is -1.70.The 3 year change in percent is -0.3421.The 5 year change in percent is -0.1836.The 10 year change in percent is 73.24.

This dataset tracks annual average expenditure per student from 1997 to 2023 for Lake Country School District

Time series data for the statistic Initial government funding per pre-primary student, constant PPP$ and country Malta. Indicator Definition:Total general (local, regional and central, current and capital) initial government funding of education per student, which includes transfers paid (such as scholarships to students), but excludes transfers received, in this case international transfers to government for education (when foreign donors provide education sector budget support or other support integrated in the government budget). Calculation Method: Total general (local, regional and central) government expenditure (current and capital) on a given level of education (primary, secondary, etc) minus international transfers to government for education, divided by the number of student enrolled at that level of education. This is then expressed at constant purchasing power parity (constant PPP$). Limitations: In some instances data on total government expenditure on education refers only to the Ministry of Education, excluding other ministries which may also spend a part of their budget on educational activities. There are also cases where it may not be possible to separate international transfers to government from general government expenditure on education, in which cases they have not been subtracted in the formula. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/The indicator "Initial government funding per pre-primary student, constant PPP$" stands at 7.35 Thousand usd as of 12/31/2017. Regarding the One-Year-Change of the series, the current value constitutes an increase of 0.9452 percent compared to the value the year prior.The 1 year change in percent is 0.9452.The 3 year change in percent is -17.99.The 5 year change in percent is 3.38.The 10 year change in percent is 44.37.

This domain covers statistics and indicators on key aspects of the education systems across Europe. The data show entrants and enrolments in education levels, education personnel and the cost and type of resources dedicated to education.

For a general technical description of the UOE Data Collection see UNESCO OECD Eurostat (UOE) joint data collection – methodology - Statistics Explained (europa.eu).

The standards on international statistics on education and training systems are set by the three international organisations jointly administering the annual UOE data collection:

• The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation Institute for Statistics (UNESCO-UIS),
• The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and,
• The Statistical Office of the European Union (EUROSTAT).

The following topics are covered:

• Pupils and students – Enrolments and Entrants,
• Learning mobility,
• Education personnel,
• Education finance,
• Graduates,
• Language learning.

Data on enrolments in education are disseminated in absolute numbers, with breakdowns available for the following dimensions:

• ISCED level of education,
• Sex,
• Age or age group,
• NUTS1 and NUTS2 regions,
• Type of educational institution (public or private) – referred to as the ‘sector’ in Eurobase,
• Intensity of participation (full-time, part-time, full-time equivalent) – referred to as ‘working time’ in Eurobase,
• Programme orientation (general/academic or vocational/professional),
• Type of vocational programme (school-based only or combined school and work-based),
• Level of attainment that can be achieved upon programme completion (e.g. insufficient for level completion or partial level completion, sufficient for partial level completion without direct access to tertiary education),
• Field of education (ISCED-F13).

Additionally, the following types of indicators on enrolments are calculated (all indicators using population data use Eurostat’s population database (demo_pjan)):

• Participation rates by age or by age groups as % of corresponding age population.
• Participation rates by age as % of total population.
• Pupils from age 0, 3, 4 and 5 to the starting age of compulsory education at primary level, as % of the population of the corresponding age. In some countries, the start of primary education is not compulsory and in some countries compulsory education starts at pre-primary level. This indicator calculates the participation rates of pupils up until (but not including) the starting age of formal education that is both compulsory and at the primary level. This age varies from 5 years to 7 years across countries and the national starting ages for compulsory primary education used in the calculation of this indicator are listed in the file Ages_educ_indicators which is available to download in the Annexes section of this page.
• Pupils under the age of 3 as % of corresponding age population. This indicator does not include 3 year olds (includes ages 0, 1 and 2).
• Out-of-school rates at different ages. This indicator is calculated as 100 – (students of a particular age who are enrolled in education at any ISCED level / Total population of that age *100).
  • Out-of-school rates in population of lower secondary school age and in population of upper secondary school age. This indicator is calculated as 100 – (students who are of the official age range for ISCED X who are enrolled in education at any ISCED level / Total population in the official age range for ISCED X *100). The official age range for each ISCED level varies across countries, and national age ranges for lower and upper secondary used in the calculation of this indicator are listed in the file Ages_educ_indicators which is available to download in the Annexes section of this page.
  • Students in education of post-compulsory school age - as % of the total population of post-compulsory school age. The final age at which formal education is considered as compulsory in national education systems in the calculation of this indicator are listed in the file Ages_educ_indicators.
  • Students participation at the end of compulsory education - as % of the corresponding age population. Indicator is calculated for age (X-1), (X), (X+1), (X+2) where X = the final age at which formal education is compulsory in national education systems. The final age at which formal education is considered as compulsory in national education systems in the calculation of this indicator are listed in the file Ages_educ_indicators.
  • Students in education aged 30 and over - per 1000 of corresponding age population
    • Expected school years of pupils and students at different levels of education
    • Distribution of pupils and students enrolled in general and vocational programmes by education level and NUTS2 regions
    • Distribution of students in different fields of education
    • Ratio of the proportion of the population who are tertiary students in NUTS1 regions to the proportion of the population who are tertiary students in NUTS2 regions

Data on entrants in education are disseminated in absolute numbers, with breakdowns available for the following dimensions:

• ISCED level of education,
• Programme orientation (general/academic or vocational/professional),
• Sex,
• Age or age group,
• Field of education (ISCED-F13).

Additionally the following indicator on entrants is calculated:

• Distribution of new entrants in different fields of education.

Data on learning mobility is available for degree mobile students, degree mobile graduates and credit mobile graduates. Degree mobility means that students/graduates are/were enrolled as regular students in any semester/term of a programme taught in the country of destination with the intention of graduating from it in the country of destination. Credit mobility is defined as temporary tertiary education or/and study-related traineeship abroad within the framework of enrolment in a tertiary education programme at a "home institution" (usually) for the purpose of gaining academic credit (i.e. credit that will be recognised in that home institution). Further definitions are in Section 2.8 of the UOE manual.

Degree mobile students are referred to as just ‘mobile students’ in UOE learning mobility tables. Data is disseminated for degree mobile students and degree mobile graduates in absolute numbers with breakdowns available for the following dimensions:

• ISCED level of education,
• Sex,
• Field of education (ISCED-F13),
• Country of origin (defined as the country of education prior to entering tertiary although there may be national deviations. These are listed in the Helpsheet of the latest footnotes report available to download in the Annexes section of this page) – referred to as ‘Geopolitical entity (partner)’ in Eurobase.

Additionally the following types of indicators on degree mobile students and degree mobile graduates are calculated ((all indicators using population data use Eurostat’s population database (demo_pjan)):

• Share of all students/graduates who are mobile students/degree mobile graduates from abroad,
• Distribution of mobile students/degree mobile graduates from abroad in different fields of education.

For credit mobile graduates, data are disseminated in absolute numbers, with breakdowns available for the following dimensions:

• ISCED level of education,
• Sex,
• Type of mobility scheme (e.g. Credit mobility under EU programmes i.e. ERASMUS, Credit mobility in other international/national programmes),
• Type of mobility (study period only or study period combined with work placement),
• Country of destination – referred to as ‘Geopolitical entity (partner)’ in Eurobase.

Data on personnel in education are available for classroom teachers/academic staff, teacher aides and school-management personnel. Teachers are employed in a professional capacity to guide and direct the learning experiences of students, irrespective of their training, qualifications or delivery mechanism. Teacher aides support teachers in providing instruction to students. Academic staff are personnel employed at the tertiary level of education whose primary assignment is instruction and/or research. School management personnel covers professional personnel who are responsible for school management/administration (ISCED 0-4) or whose primary or major responsibility is the management of the institution, or a recognised department or subdivision of the institution (tertiary levels). Full definitions of these statistical units are in Section 3.5 of the UOE manual.

Data are disseminated on teachers and academic staff in absolute numbers, with breakdowns available for the following dimensions:

• ISCED

The annual expenditure on public and private educational institutions per pupil/student compared to GDP per capita relates the resources (e.g. expenditure for personnel, other current and capital expenditure) being devoted to education in public and private educational institutions to the overall economic welfare of a country. It is based on full-time equivalent enrolment. The use of GDP per capita allows the comparison of levels of economic activity of different sized economies (per capita) irrespective of their price levels (in PPS).

Finland Education Expenditure: Per Student: Pre Primary Education data was reported at 5,800.000 EUR in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 5,900.000 EUR for 2015. Finland Education Expenditure: Per Student: Pre Primary Education data is updated yearly, averaging 5,200.000 EUR from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2016, with 17 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5,900.000 EUR in 2015 and a record low of 3,200.000 EUR in 2000. Finland Education Expenditure: Per Student: Pre Primary Education data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistics Finland. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Finland – Table FI.G005: Education Statistics.

Time series data for the statistic Initial government funding per pre-primary student, constant PPP$ and country Liberia. Indicator Definition:Total general (local, regional and central, current and capital) initial government funding of education per student, which includes transfers paid (such as scholarships to students), but excludes transfers received, in this case international transfers to government for education (when foreign donors provide education sector budget support or other support integrated in the government budget). Calculation Method: Total general (local, regional and central) government expenditure (current and capital) on a given level of education (primary, secondary, etc) minus international transfers to government for education, divided by the number of student enrolled at that level of education. This is then expressed at constant purchasing power parity (constant PPP$). Limitations: In some instances data on total government expenditure on education refers only to the Ministry of Education, excluding other ministries which may also spend a part of their budget on educational activities. There are also cases where it may not be possible to separate international transfers to government from general government expenditure on education, in which cases they have not been subtracted in the formula. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/