Data / Rankings / Government spending on education, share of GDP / EU countries

EU countries by government spending on education, share of GDP

Sweden had the highest government spending on education, share of GDP of 25 EU countries in 2020, at 8% of GDP. Ireland had the lowest, at 3.2% of GDP. The median was 4.9% of GDP. Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

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Highest8Sweden
Lowest3.2Ireland
Median4.925 EU countries

Map of EU countries, 2020

Austria: 5.6 % of GDPBelgium: 6.8 % of GDPBulgaria: 4.5 % of GDPCyprus: 5.6 % of GDPCzechia: 4.6 % of GDPGermany: 5.5 % of GDPDenmark: 7.4 % of GDPEstonia: 5.4 % of GDPSpain: 4.9 % of GDPFinland: 6.7 % of GDPFrance: 5.7 % of GDPCroatia: 4.4 % of GDPHungary: 4.1 % of GDPIreland: 3.2 % of GDPItaly: 4.4 % of GDPLithuania: 4.5 % of GDPLuxembourg: 3.9 % of GDPLatvia: 5 % of GDPNetherlands: 5.3 % of GDPPoland: 4.8 % of GDPPortugal: 4.9 % of GDPRomania: 3.6 % of GDPSweden: 8 % of GDPSlovenia: 5.4 % of GDPSlovakia: 4.7 % of GDP
  • Under 4.4
  • 4.4 to 4.8
  • 4.8 to 5.3
  • 5.3 to 5.6
  • 5.6 and over
  • No data
% of GDP, 2020. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Government expenditure on education, total, % of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS) via World Bank, World Development Indicators. Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2020

Sweden: 8 % of GDPSweden8Denmark: 7.4 % of GDPDenmark7.4Belgium: 6.8 % of GDPBelgium6.8Finland: 6.7 % of GDPFinland6.7France: 5.7 % of GDPFrance5.7Austria: 5.6 % of GDPAustria5.6Cyprus: 5.6 % of GDPCyprus5.6Germany: 5.5 % of GDPGermany5.5Estonia: 5.4 % of GDPEstonia5.4Slovenia: 5.4 % of GDPSlovenia5.4Netherlands: 5.3 % of GDPNetherlands5.3Latvia: 5 % of GDPLatvia5Portugal: 4.9 % of GDPPortugal4.9Spain: 4.9 % of GDPSpain4.9Poland: 4.8 % of GDPPoland4.8Slovakia: 4.7 % of GDPSlovakia4.7Czechia: 4.6 % of GDPCzechia4.6Bulgaria: 4.5 % of GDPBulgaria4.5Lithuania: 4.5 % of GDPLithuania4.5Italy: 4.4 % of GDPItaly4.4Croatia: 4.4 % of GDPCroatia4.4Hungary: 4.1 % of GDPHungary4.1Luxembourg: 3.9 % of GDPLuxembourg3.9Romania: 3.6 % of GDPRomania3.6Ireland: 3.2 % of GDPIreland3.2Sweden: 8 % of GDPSweden8Denmark: 7.4 % of GDPDenmark7.4Belgium: 6.8 % of GDPBelgium6.8Finland: 6.7 % of GDPFinland6.7France: 5.7 % of GDPFrance5.7Austria: 5.6 % of GDPAustria5.6Cyprus: 5.6 % of GDPCyprus5.6Germany: 5.5 % of GDPGermany5.5Estonia: 5.4 % of GDPEstonia5.4Slovenia: 5.4 % of GDPSlovenia5.4Netherlands: 5.3 % of GDPNetherlands5.3Latvia: 5 % of GDPLatvia5Portugal: 4.9 % of GDPPortugal4.9Spain: 4.9 % of GDPSpain4.9Poland: 4.8 % of GDPPoland4.8Slovakia: 4.7 % of GDPSlovakia4.7Czechia: 4.6 % of GDPCzechia4.6Bulgaria: 4.5 % of GDPBulgaria4.5Lithuania: 4.5 % of GDPLithuania4.5Italy: 4.4 % of GDPItaly4.4Croatia: 4.4 % of GDPCroatia4.4Hungary: 4.1 % of GDPHungary4.1Luxembourg: 3.9 % of GDPLuxembourg3.9Romania: 3.6 % of GDPRomania3.6Ireland: 3.2 % of GDPIreland3.2
% of GDP. Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Government expenditure on education, total, % of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS) via World Bank, World Development Indicators. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2020
% of GDP		Change on 2019
1Sweden8+0.3 pts
2Denmark7.4+0.1 pts
3Belgium6.8+0.4 pts
4Finland6.7+0.2 pts
5France5.7+0.3 pts
6Austria5.6+0.3 pts
7Cyprus5.6+0.4 pts
8Germany5.5+0.5 pts
9Estonia5.4+0.3 pts
10Slovenia5.4+0.5 pts
11Netherlands5.3+0.2 pts
12Latvia5+0.4 pts
13Portugal4.9+0.2 pts
14Spain4.9+0.6 pts
15Poland4.8+0.2 pts
16Slovakia4.7+0.5 pts
17Czechia4.6+0.2 pts
18Bulgaria4.5+0.3 pts
19Lithuania4.5+0.5 pts
20Italy4.4+0.3 pts
21Croatia4.4+0.5 pts
22Hungary4.1-0.1 pts
23Luxembourg3.9+0.1 pts
24Romania3.60 pts
25Ireland3.2-0 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

General government expenditure on education at all levels (current, capital and transfers), as a percentage of GDP. Includes spending funded by international transfers to government. UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Government spending only: fees and other money paid by households and private bodies are left out, so countries where families pay a large share show lower values. For some countries UIS takes the figure from government budget documents, so a recent year can be revised when final accounts come in. Countries only; UIS publishes no World figure.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. 2 EU countries with data in other periods have no value for 2020 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). Government expenditure on education, total, % of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS). Retrieved through World Bank World Development Indicators (data.worldbank.org). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-12. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. UIS does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

UNESCO Institute for Statistics. (2026). Government expenditure on education, total, % of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS) (EU countries by government spending on education, share of GDP, 2020) [Data set]. World Bank, World Development Indicators. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS

MLA 9

Government expenditure on education, total, % of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS), EU countries by government spending on education, share of GDP, 2020. UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 8 Oct. 2026, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS. World Bank, World Development Indicators, https://data.worldbank.org. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/education-spending-gdp/eu-countries?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

UNESCO Institute for Statistics. 2026. Government expenditure on education, total, % of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS). EU countries by government spending on education, share of GDP, 2020. Dataset. Distributed by World Bank, World Development Indicators. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/education-spending-gdp/eu-countries?period=2020.

Harvard

UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) Government expenditure on education, total, % of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS), EU countries by government spending on education, share of GDP, 2020 [Dataset]. Via World Bank, World Development Indicators. Available at: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/education-spending-gdp/eu-countries?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{unesco_eu_countries_by_government_2020,
  author = {{UNESCO Institute for Statistics}},
  title = {{Government expenditure on education, total, \% of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS): EU countries by government spending on education, share of GDP, 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  publisher = {World Bank, World Development Indicators},
  url = {https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Retrieved through World Bank, World Development Indicators (https://data.worldbank.org). Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/education-spending-gdp/eu-countries?period=2020. Publisher attribution: Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). Government expenditure on education, total, \% of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS). Retrieved through World Bank World Development Indicators (data.worldbank.org). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-12. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. UIS does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - UNESCO Institute for Statistics
TI  - Government expenditure on education, total, % of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS): EU countries by government spending on education, share of GDP, 2020
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/08
PB  - World Bank, World Development Indicators
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/education-spending-gdp/eu-countries?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Retrieved through World Bank, World Development Indicators (https://data.worldbank.org).
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/education-spending-gdp/eu-countries?period=2020.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). Government expenditure on education, total, % of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS). Retrieved through World Bank World Development Indicators (data.worldbank.org). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-12. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. UIS does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.
ER  -
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Questions

Which EU country has the highest government spending on education, share of GDP?

Sweden, with 8% of GDP in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Which EU country has the lowest government spending on education, share of GDP?

Ireland, with 3.2% of GDP in 2020.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Government expenditure on education, total, % of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS). Retrieved 2026-10-12. 2 EU countries have no value for 2020 and are not ranked.

Government spending on education, share of GDP: other rankings

EU countries: more rankings