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, 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.

The average for 2021 based on 35 countries was 3.9 percent. The highest value was in Kuwait: 7.76 percent and the lowest value was in Indonesia: 1.03 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

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.

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.

Global Primary Education Expenditure by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

The average for 2021 based on 17 countries was 4.37 percent. The highest value was in Bolivia: 7.96 percent and the lowest value was in Haiti: 1.24 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Dataset Overview 📝

The dataset includes the following key indicators, collected for over 200 countries:

• Government Expenditure on Education (% of GDP): Shows the percentage of a country’s GDP allocated to education.
• Literacy Rate (Adult Total): Represents the percentage of the population aged 15 and above who can read and write.
• Primary Completion Rate: The percentage of children who complete their primary education within the official age group.
• Pupil-Teacher Ratio (Primary and Secondary Education): Indicates the average number of students per teacher at the primary and secondary levels.
• School Enrollment Rates (Primary, Secondary, Tertiary): Reflects the percentage of the relevant age group enrolled in schools across different education levels.

Data Source 🌐

World Bank: This dataset is compiled from the World Bank's educational database, providing reliable, updated statistics on educational progress worldwide.

Potential Use Cases 🔍 This dataset is ideal for anyone interested in:

Educational Research: Understanding how education spending and policies impact literacy, enrollment, and overall educational outcomes. Predictive Modeling: Building models to predict educational success factors, such as completion rates and literacy. Global Education Analysis: Analyzing trends in global education systems and how different countries allocate resources to education. Policy Development: Helping governments and organizations make data-driven decisions regarding educational reforms and funding.

Key Questions You Can Explore 🤔

How does government expenditure on education correlate with literacy rates and school enrollment across different regions? What are the trends in pupil-teacher ratios over time, and how do they affect educational outcomes? How do education indicators differ between low-income and high-income countries? Can we predict which countries will achieve universal primary education based on current trends?

Important Notes ⚠️ - Missing Data: Some values may be missing for certain years or countries. Consider using techniques like forward filling or interpolation when working with time series models. - Data Limitations: This dataset provides global averages and may not capture regional disparities within countries.

Education spending among countries in Europe ranged from *** percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in Sweden to *** percent of GDP in Ireland. As an overall average among member states of the European Union, the amount spent on education in Europe was *** percent of GDP in 2023.

Global General Government Expenditure on Education by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

The average for 2022 based on 113 countries was 13.94 percent. The highest value was in Sierra Leone: 29.37 percent and the lowest value was in Nigeria: 4.3 percent. The indicator is available from 1972 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council vary significantly in size, population, and available budget. In 2025, three of the six GCC countries budgeted more than ** percent of state expenditure on education. The remaining three budgeted between * and **** percent each. GCC investment in education Investment in education has become a key priority for GCC countries in recent years. Countries like Qatar and the United Arab Emirates even have campuses of American universities like Northwestern, NYU, and Michigan State. In 2021, all countries in the council saw an increase in the share of student enrollment, with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait recording only a marginal increase and the UAE topping the list with the biggest jump. Despite rising student enrollment, the average student-to-teacher ratio in the region remains low. Budget expenditure in the GCC Budget allocation for education comprised a significant share of the expenditure in most GCC countries. Saudi Arabia, which has the overwhelming share of schools in the GCC, dedicated the most significant portion of its budget to the education sector. Four out of the six countries spent a noticeably smaller portion of their expenditure on healthcare during the same period.

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 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.

Brazil BR: Government Expenditure on Education: Total: % of GDP data was reported at 5.497 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 5.772 % for 2020. Brazil BR: Government Expenditure on Education: Total: % of GDP data is updated yearly, averaging 5.480 % from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2021, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6.320 % in 2017 and a record low of 3.750 % in 2002. Brazil BR: Government Expenditure on Education: Total: % of GDP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Brazil – Table BR.World Bank.WDI: Social: Education Statistics. 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.;UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). UIS.Stat Bulk Data Download Service. Accessed April 5, 2025. https://apiportal.uis.unesco.org/bdds.;Median;

Global Public Spending on Tertiary Education by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

Finland FI: Government Expenditure on Tertiary Education: % of Government Expenditure on Education data was reported at 27.913 % in 2014. This records a decrease from the previous number of 28.042 % for 2013. Finland FI: Government Expenditure on Tertiary Education: % of Government Expenditure on Education data is updated yearly, averaging 27.913 % from Dec 1970 (Median) to 2014, with 41 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 34.030 % in 2000 and a record low of 11.083 % in 1971. Finland FI: Government Expenditure on Tertiary Education: % of Government Expenditure on Education data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Finland – Table FI.World Bank: Education Statistics. Expenditure on tertiary education is expressed as a percentage of total general government expenditure on education. General government usually refers to local, regional and central governments.; ; United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics.; Median;

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

Historical dataset showing Virgin Islands (U.S.) education spending by year from N/A to N/A.

Global Current Tertiary Education Expenditure by Country, 2023 Discover more data with ReportLinker!