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 2021, 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 followed behind, with the United Kingdom in third. On the other hand, Mexico was the OECD country in which the lowest amount was spent per full-time student in higher education.

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.

Finland Education Expenditure: Per Student: Vocational Education data was reported at 9,700.000 EUR in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 10,000.000 EUR for 2015. Finland Education Expenditure: Per Student: Vocational Education data is updated yearly, averaging 8,600.000 EUR from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2016, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10,800.000 EUR in 2013 and a record low of 6,500.000 EUR in 1997. Finland Education Expenditure: Per Student: Vocational 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.

Israel IL: Government Expenditure per Student: Primary: % of(GDP) Gross Domestic Productper Capita data was reported at 20.847 % in 2014. This records a decrease from the previous number of 20.860 % for 2013. Israel IL: Government Expenditure per Student: Primary: % of(GDP) Gross Domestic Productper Capita data is updated yearly, averaging 20.854 % from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2014, with 16 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 22.450 % in 2002 and a record low of 19.786 % in 2007. Israel IL: Government Expenditure per Student: Primary: % 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 Israel – Table IL.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 2021, Chile was the country that spent the highest share of its gross domestic product (GDP) on higher education, reaching 2.4 percent. Of this, 1.5 percent came from private sources. The United States followed behind with its total spending reaching 2.4 percent of its GDP. On the other hand, higher education spending in Saudi Arabia only amounted to 0.3 percent of its GDP. To find out more about the expenditure on higher education per student in selected countries worldwide, please click here.

Laos LA: Government Expenditure per Student: Tertiary: % of(GDP) Gross Domestic Productper Capita data was reported at 20.150 % in 2014. This records a decrease from the previous number of 21.524 % for 2013. Laos LA: Government Expenditure per Student: Tertiary: % of(GDP) Gross Domestic Productper Capita data is updated yearly, averaging 21.195 % from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2014, with 10 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 110.244 % in 2001 and a record low of 14.553 % in 2012. Laos LA: 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 Laos – Table LA.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;

In 2022, New York spent around ****** U.S. dollars per pupil on public elementary and secondary schools - the most out of any state. The District of Columbia, Vermont, New Jersey, and Massachusetts rounded out the top five states for elementary and secondary school expenditure per pupil.

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;

Switzerland education spending for 2022 was 15.41%, a 0.82% increase from 2021.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Switzerland education spending for 2021 was <strong>14.58%</strong>, a <strong>0.34% increase</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>Switzerland education spending for 2020 was <strong>14.24%</strong>, a <strong>1.4% decline</strong> from 2019.</li>
<li>Switzerland education spending for 2019 was <strong>15.65%</strong>, a <strong>0.18% increase</strong> from 2018.</li>
</ul>General government expenditure on education (current, capital, and transfers) is expressed as a percentage of total general government expenditure on all sectors (including health, education, social services, etc.). It includes expenditure funded by transfers from international sources to government. General government usually refers to local, regional and central governments.

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;

Venezuela VE: Government Expenditure per Student: Primary: % of(GDP) Gross Domestic Productper Capita data was reported at 0.019 % in 2015. This records a decrease from the previous number of 17.908 % for 2009. Venezuela VE: Government Expenditure per Student: Primary: % of(GDP) Gross Domestic Productper Capita data is updated yearly, averaging 8.555 % from Dec 2006 (Median) to 2015, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 17.908 % in 2009 and a record low of 0.019 % in 2015. Venezuela VE: Government Expenditure per Student: Primary: % 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 Venezuela – Table VE.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;

Sweden SE: Government Expenditure per Student: Primary: % of(GDP) Gross Domestic Productper Capita data was reported at 22.408 % in 2014. This records a decrease from the previous number of 22.609 % for 2013. Sweden SE: Government Expenditure per Student: Primary: % of(GDP) Gross Domestic Productper Capita data is updated yearly, averaging 23.125 % from Dec 1998 (Median) to 2014, with 17 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 26.772 % in 2009 and a record low of 20.679 % in 2001. Sweden SE: Government Expenditure per Student: Primary: % 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 Sweden – Table SE.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;

Japan JP: Government Expenditure per Student: Primary: % of(GDP) Gross Domestic Productper Capita data was reported at 22.546 % in 2014. This records a decrease from the previous number of 22.971 % for 2013. Japan JP: Government Expenditure per Student: Primary: % of(GDP) Gross Domestic Productper Capita data is updated yearly, averaging 21.324 % from Dec 1998 (Median) to 2014, with 16 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 22.971 % in 2013 and a record low of 19.414 % in 1998. Japan JP: Government Expenditure per Student: Primary: % 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 Japan – Table JP.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 28 thousand U.S. dollars. Comparatively, the government expenditure per tertiary student in Bangladesh was just under 906 U.S. dollars in 2020.

In 2024, public spending on education in China reached *** trillion yuan. Education expenditure increased continuously over recent years, but growth rates are considerably lower than ten years ago. Development of public spending on education Since the beginning of the reform era, the Chinese government attached great importance to the development of the educational sector. Besides structural reforms, public spending on education was increased considerably. However, the whole educational sector lagged far behind international standards in terms of quality as well as quantity. Public expenditure on education as a share of the national GDP, which is a common measure to compare educational systems, ranged at only around 2.5 percent in the mid-1990s. In 1993, the government announced the plan to increase educational spending to four percent of the GDP until 2000, but it took 12 more years to reach that target. However, considering that at the same time the GDP grew by double digits most of the years, the financial situation of the education sector improved greatly. This manifests itself in the substantially increased number of graduates and quality of degrees. Since achieving the four percent target in 2012, the growth of educational spending, which had reached more than ** percent per year in the years before, was reduced to levels equaling the GDP growth. Compared to the public spending on education of developed countries, China is still at the lower range and did not reach the OECD average of around *** percent of the GDP in 2018. Spending per student Even though educational spending in China improved a lot in the last decades, when calculated per student, expenditure is still far behind developed countries. While spending per student on a tertiary level of education in OECD countries averaged around ****** U.S. dollars in 2020, it reached only ****** yuan per student in China in 2023, which is less than one third. This fact sheds some light on the average quality level of the educational system in China on a general basis and reminds us that China is a huge and populous country. Of which, some elite schools in the big cities coexist with vast numbers of schools in the countryside operating on a completely different level of quality.

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.

Nepal NP: Government Expenditure per Student: Secondary: % of(GDP) Gross Domestic Productper Capita data was reported at 11.003 % in 2015. This records a decrease from the previous number of 11.674 % for 2014. Nepal NP: Government Expenditure per Student: Secondary: % of(GDP) Gross Domestic Productper Capita data is updated yearly, averaging 11.003 % from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2015, with 13 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 13.384 % in 2001 and a record low of 9.266 % in 2003. Nepal NP: 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 Nepal – Table NP.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;

This statistic shows the expenditure of different countries on tertiary education per student in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) constant 2010 U.S. dollars. In the United States, 26,400 U.S. dollars was spent per tertiary school student in 2010.