Student Budgets Around the World

Key statistics

China have increased year-on-year spending the most per student, increasing 21% per year on average
The UK have only increased spending 4% per year on average, behind Switzerland, Korea, Germany and Austria who already spend more per student
The US are 37th on a list of 43, increasing spending per student by only 2% per year
Switzerland (£16,779/$21,293), Luxembourg (£16,740/$21,244) and Austria (£11,896/$15,097) make up the top 3 countries in the world spending the most per student

In the western world, the level of government spending on education has been a sore topic. Unions and teachers are often campaigning for improved pay with often little change. In fact, there are only 5 countries globally where teachers make above the local average ‘cost of living’, or GDP (PPP), with the US being 19th in the list overall (salaries are 14% lower than the cost of living nationally) and the UK not making the top 20 at all (18% lower).

We’ve analysed how government spending on mandatory education has fluctuated through the years from country-to-country. Here, we can see which countries are investing the most, not just in teachers, but in every aspect of education that goes into the investment they make in their students’ futures.

Using figures from the OECD and other international governmental sources between 2010 and 2018, we can see that China leads the world in how much they’ve increased per student budget spending (21% average year-on-year). However, China is playing catch-up as they sit 42nd of a list of 43 countries on the total amount they spend per head, which is currently £1,902 ($2,414). This is considerably less than the UK at £9,138 ($11,597) per student and the US at £10,647 ($13,511).

Use the boxes and graph below to see how countries compare and at what rates they are investing in their education system.

	Country	% change	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
1	China	21%	$682	$935	$1,175	$1,312	$1,443	$1,588	$1,646	$2,414	-
2	Russia	17%	$1,952	$2,320	$4,470	$5,224	$5,391	$5,001	$4,366	$4,276	$5,382
3	Turkey	12%	$2,165	$1,832	$3,048	$3,484	$3,834	$4,282	$4,576	$5,097	$4,594
4	Brazil	11%	$2,257	$2,667	$2,474	$2,460	$2,422	$3,775	$3,866	$4,152	-
5	Colombia	11%	$1,955	-	$2,086	$2,307	$2,633	$2,754	$2,909	$3,014	$3,855
6	Hungary	9%	-	-	-	$4,452	$4,642	$5,552	$5,985	$7,033	$6,780
7	Switzerland	9%	$13,242	$14,399	$19,800	$16,862	$15,099	$21,100	$20,783	$21,293	-
8	Chile	7%	$3,204	$3,279	$3,702	$4,534	$4,376	$4,167	$4,259	$4,906	$5,213
9	Slovak Republic	6%	$4,764	$5,281	$5,126	$5,382	$5,929	$6,369	$6,765	$6,432	$6,711
10	Korea	6%	$8,060	$8,199	$8,355	$8,592	$10,316	$12,202	$12,370	$11,810	$12,704
11	Israel	6%	$5,198	$5,686	$6,350	$7,078	$7,551	$7,556	-	$8,427	$9,064
12	Portugal	6%	$6,821	-	-	$8,232	$9,514	$9,411	$8,577	$9,107	$9,836
13	Poland	6%	$4,937	$5,584	$5,805	$6,362	$6,608	$6,824	$6,788	$7,028	$7,597
14	Czech Republic	5%	$5,735	$5,767	$6,185	$6,482	$6,639	$6,887	$7,122	$7,108	$8,052
15	Iran	5%	$913	$768	$820	$1,110	$833	$817	$1,016	$1,119	-
16	Germany	5%	$8,448	$9,217	$9,632	$9,839	$10,318	$10,799	$10,902	$11,552	$12,195
17	Austria	4%	-	-	-	$12,481	$13,393	$13,454	$13,939	$14,913	$15,097
18	Taiwan	4%	$5,149	$5,491	$5,653	$5,694	$5,764	$5,634	$6,066	$6,726	-
19	United Kingdom	4%	$8,919	$9,430	$9,629	$9,967	$11,487	$11,875	$11,109	$11,221	$11,597
20	Denmark	4%	$11,327	$11,758	$10,535	$11,477	$11,808	$12,827	-	-	$12,163
21	Australia	4%	$9,720	$10,315	$10,033	$9,560	$10,318	$10,319	$10,743	$10,516	$11,270
22	New Zealand	4%	-	-	-	$8,360	$8,770	$9,064	$9,192	$9,679	$9,937
23	Latvia	4%	$5,066	$4,756	$4,954	$5,098	$5,968	$6,631	$6,884	$6,761	$6,766
24	Lithuania	4%	-	$4,541	$4,742	$4,803	$5,212	$5,383	$5,314	$5,879	$6,094
25	France	3%	$8,892	$9,124	$9,200	$9,312	$9,778	$9,918	$9,963	$10,377	$10,867
26	Norway	3%	$12,648	$12,942	$13,102	$13,508	$14,396	$14,194	$14,069	$14,042	$14,848
27	Netherlands	3%	$9,775	$9,897	$10,062	$10,338	$10,995	$10,674	$11,026	$11,326	$11,931
28	Sweden	3%	$9,750	$10,104	$10,519	$10,860	$11,061	$11,007	$11,174	$11,785	$12,339
29	Belgium	3%	$9,903	$10,465	$10,786	$11,280	$11,719	$11,903	$11,952	$12,535	$13,054
30	Canada	3%	$11,554	$9,948	$10,046	$10,151	$10,635	$10,747	$10,459	$11,020	$11,380
31	Iceland	3%	$9,764	$8,804	$9,216	$9,241	$9,757	$10,599	$11,231	$11,861	$13,254
32	Argentina	2%	$3,257	$3,342	$3,733	$3,628	$4,083	$2,206	$2,685	$2,918	-
33	Italy	2%	$8,493	$8,169	$7,993	$8,609	$8,840	$8,727	$9,047	$8,901	$10,036
34	Mexico	2%	$2,418	$2,544	$2,765	$2,826	$2,925	$3,033	$3,075	$3,149	$2,803
35	Finland	2%	$8,448	$8,833	$9,272	$9,448	$9,659	$9,769	$10,044	$10,252	$10,133
36	Estonia	2%	$6,209	$6,218	$6,203	$6,534	$6,897	$6,436	$6,685	$6,986	$7,462
37	United States	2%	$11,811	$11,809	$11,718	$11,731	$11,868	$12,163	$12,595	$13,022	$13,511
38	Luxembourg	1%	-	-	-	$19,943	$18,758	$20,939	$20,711	$20,224	$21,244
39	Slovenia	1%	$8,532	$8,674	$8,840	$8,838	$8,950	$8,875	$8,447	$8,724	$9,223
40	Spain	1%	$8,637	$8,369	$8,272	$7,963	$7,753	$7,814	$8,230	$8,765	$9,166
41	Japan	1%	$9,155	$8,882	$9,170	$9,564	$9,983	$10,126	$10,102	$9,868	$9,963
42	Greece	1%	-	-	-	$6,006	$6,277	$6,192	$6,205	-	-
43	Ireland	-1%	-	$9,749	$9,848	$10,071	$9,434	$9,170	$8,510	$8,887	$9,218

Sources and methodology

The data was collected primarily from the OECD and missing data was sourced using official national statistical bodies (see below). This data was then compiled into a year-on-year view and averages were calculated using only known values to give a true state of change.

Sources include:

OECD Education spendings, Statistics Norway, Statista, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union (2019), Statistical Yearbook Of The Republic Of China, Poland Education and Training Monitoring of the European Union, The Information Source of Turkey, National Institute for the Evaluation of Education for Spain, Australian Council for Educational Research, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Higher School of Economics Russia, Government of the Netherlands (Rijksoverheid), Federal Office of Statistics Germany, Government Of India (Ministry Of Human Resource Development, Department Of School Education & Literacy, Statistics Division), Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (Government of Spain), Local Education Expense Survey (Japan, Ministry of Education), Fraser Institute: Education Spending in Public Schools in Canada, The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies for France, Official Statistics for Local Authorities and school expenditure (UK Gov), German Federal Office of Statistics, US National Center for Educational Statistics,The World Bank, and the European Commission.