Back to school: Which countries spend the most on education? (2024)

With school back in session, Al Jazeera looks at the state of global education.

Millions of children returned to school this week as summer holidays concluded in many parts of the northern hemisphere.

However, it is estimated that 244 million children between the ages of six and 18 worldwide are still out of school.

Education is a key driver for social and economic development. According to the World Bank, each additional year of schooling is associated with a nine percent rise in hourly earnings.

Global education levels

Just under 10 percent of the world’s population above the age of 15 has no formal education, meaning they did not enter or complete the first grade, according to data compiled by the Wittgenstein Centre.

About 10 percent of people have completed primary education – which runs from nursery to 11 or 12 years old – with an additional five percent having incomplete primary school education.

Nearly 40 percent of the world’s population has been educated to either lower or upper secondary education, which usually runs from the ages of 11 or 12 through to 18 or 19 years old.

The remaining 12 percent of the world’s population has attained an education past the secondary stage, this is compared with just one percent in 1950. Individuals with higher levels of education tend to enjoy better overall health and wellbeing.

Which countries have the longest schooling?

A child spends 12.8 years on average at school or university, according to the United Nations Development Programme. This includes primary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary and tertiary education as well as years spent on repetition.

With 21.1 years of expected schooling, Australians spend the longest time in the education system, followed by New Zealand (20.3 years) and Greece (20 years).

South Sudan has the lowest expected years of schooling at 5.5 years, followed by Niger (6.9 years) and Mali (7.4 years).

Use the table below to see the expected years of schooling in your country.

How much do countries spend on education?

In 2020 the world spent about $5 trillion, 4.33 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP), on education. To put that into perspective, the world spent about $9 trillion on healthcare and nearly $2 trillion on its militaries that same year.

According to UNESCO, high-income countries spent nearly double the amount on education as low-income countries in 2020.

In 2020, the United States spent about 6.05 percent of its GDP on education while in South America, Bolivia led the region at 9.84 percent.

In Africa, Namibia allocated the most significant proportion, dedicating 9.64 percent of its GDP to education. While in Asia, Saudi Arabia was the top spender at 7.81 percent. In Europe, Greenland led the way by allocating a substantial 10.5 percent of its GDP to education, nearly double the European Union’s average of 5.13 percent.

The map below shows the total general government expenditure on education at all levels of government and all levels of education, as a share of GDP.

Back to school: Which countries spend the most on education? (2024)

FAQs

Back to school: Which countries spend the most on education? ›

Norway reported the highest total expenditures on education institutions as a percentage of GDP (6.6 percent), followed by Chile (6.5 percent), Israel (6.2 percent), Australia (6.1 percent), and the United Kingdom and the United States (both 6.0 percent).

Which country spends most on education? ›

Norway reported the highest total expenditures on education institutions as a percentage of GDP (6.6 percent), followed by Chile (6.5 percent), Israel (6.2 percent), Australia (6.1 percent), and the United Kingdom and the United States (both 6.0 percent).

What country spends the most years in school? ›

This includes primary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary and tertiary education as well as years spent on repetition. With 21.1 years of expected schooling, Australians spend the longest time in the education system, followed by New Zealand (20.3 years) and Greece (20 years).

Which countries go to school the most? ›

The Top 10 Most-Educated Countries

Based on the OECD's data, Canada is the most educated country globally, with 56.71% of adults meeting the OECD criteria. Japan has the second-highest percentage of 51.44%, followed by Israel with 50.92%.

Which states spend the most per student on education? ›

In 2022, New York spent around 29,897 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.

How much does the United States spend on education? ›

Question: How much money does the United States spend on public elementary and secondary schools? Response: Total expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools in the United States were $870 billion in 2019–20 (in constant 2021–22 dollars).

What country do kids go to school the longest? ›

Taiwan leads with the longest school day globally, clocking in at 10 hours. This extensive timeframe is indicative of the country's rigorous academic culture. Following closely is China, with students dedicating about 9 hours and 30 minutes to school each day.

Which country spends the least on education in the world? ›

Education Spending Compared To GDP, By Country
RankCountryPercentage of GDP Spent on Education
1Equatorial Guinea0.7 %
2Myanmar0.8 %
3Central African Republic1.2 %
4Zambia1.3 %
21 more rows

Which countries spend the most on early childhood education? ›

1.B). Several countries (Denmark, Iceland, Luxembourg, Norway and Sweden) spend more than USD PPP 11,000 per child aged 0-5, with per child spending highest, at about USD PPP 17,000 in Luxembourg. Some other countries (Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Türkiye) spend less than USD PPP 2000 per child aged 0-5.

What does the US spend the most money on? ›

Nearly half of mandatory spending in 2022 was for Social Security and other income support programs such as the Child Tax Credit, food and nutrition assistance, and federal employee benefits (figure 3). Most of the remainder paid for the two major government health programs, Medicare and Medicaid.

How is the US education system compared to other countries? ›

The U.S. average score was higher than the average scores of 10 education systems and not measurably different from the average scores of 2 education systems. Only three education systems (Singapore, Norway, and Ireland) scored higher than the United States.

Which country spends most on healthcare? ›

While U.S. health care spending is the highest in the world, Americans overall visit physicians less frequently than residents of most other high-income countries.

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