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 26 EU countries in 2021, at 7.6% of GDP. Ireland had the lowest, at 2.9% of GDP. The median was 4.8% of GDP. Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Highest7.6Sweden
Lowest2.9Ireland
Median4.826 EU countries

All EU countries, 2021

Sweden: 7.6 % of GDPSweden7.6Denmark: 7 % of GDPDenmark7Finland: 6.6 % of GDPFinland6.6Belgium: 6.4 % of GDPBelgium6.4Austria: 5.5 % of GDPAustria5.5France: 5.4 % of GDPFrance5.4Slovenia: 5.4 % of GDPSlovenia5.4Netherlands: 5.4 % of GDPNetherlands5.4Germany: 5.4 % of GDPGermany5.4Estonia: 5.2 % of GDPEstonia5.2Cyprus: 5.1 % of GDPCyprus5.1Malta: 4.9 % of GDPMalta4.9Spain: 4.8 % of GDPSpain4.8Portugal: 4.8 % of GDPPortugal4.8Latvia: 4.8 % of GDPLatvia4.8Slovakia: 4.7 % of GDPSlovakia4.7Bulgaria: 4.7 % of GDPBulgaria4.7Hungary: 4.7 % of GDPHungary4.7Czechia: 4.7 % of GDPCzechia4.7Poland: 4.6 % of GDPPoland4.6Lithuania: 4.2 % of GDPLithuania4.2Italy: 4.2 % of GDPItaly4.2Croatia: 4.1 % of GDPCroatia4.1Luxembourg: 3.7 % of GDPLuxembourg3.7Romania: 3.3 % of GDPRomania3.3Ireland: 2.9 % of GDPIreland2.9
% 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 countries2021
% of GDP		Change on 2020
1Sweden7.6-0.4 pts
2Denmark7-0.4 pts
3Finland6.6-0.1 pts
4Belgium6.4-0.4 pts
5Austria5.5-0.1 pts
6France5.4-0.2 pts
7Slovenia5.4-0 pts
8Netherlands5.4+0.1 pts
9Germany5.4-0.1 pts
10Estonia5.2-0.2 pts
11Cyprus5.1-0.5 pts
12Malta4.9n/a
13Spain4.8-0 pts
14Portugal4.8-0.1 pts
15Latvia4.8-0.2 pts
16Slovakia4.7-0 pts
17Bulgaria4.7+0.2 pts
18Hungary4.7+0.5 pts
19Czechia4.70 pts
20Poland4.6-0.2 pts
21Lithuania4.2-0.2 pts
22Italy4.2-0.2 pts
23Croatia4.1-0.3 pts
24Luxembourg3.7-0.2 pts
25Romania3.3-0.3 pts
26Ireland2.9-0.3 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. 1 EU countries with data in other periods have no value for 2021 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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{unesco_eu_countries_by_government_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
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=2021.
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 7.6% of GDP in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

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

Ireland, with 2.9% of GDP in 2021.

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. 1 EU countries have no value for 2021 and are not ranked.

Government spending on education, share of GDP: other rankings

EU countries: more rankings