Countries by spending per student, primary to tertiary

Luxembourg had the highest spending per student, primary to tertiary of 34 countries in 2019, at 26,429 USD at PPP. Mexico had the lowest, at 3,622 USD at PPP. The median was 11,883 USD at PPP. Source: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

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Highest26,429Luxembourg
Lowest3,622Mexico
Median11,88334 countries

Map of countries, 2019

Austria: 17,922 USD at PPPBelgium: 15,699 USD at PPPCanada: 14,733 USD at PPPChile: 7,428 USD at PPPCzechia: 12,148 USD at PPPGermany: 15,312 USD at PPPDenmark: 16,165 USD at PPPEstonia: 10,990 USD at PPPSpain: 11,208 USD at PPPFinland: 13,301 USD at PPPFrance: 13,653 USD at PPPUnited Kingdom: 15,877 USD at PPPGreece: 6,236 USD at PPPHungary: 9,138 USD at PPPIreland: 11,618 USD at PPPIsrael: 10,228 USD at PPPIceland: 15,801 USD at PPPItaly: 11,417 USD at PPPJapan: 12,604 USD at PPPSouth Korea: 14,097 USD at PPPLithuania: 8,548 USD at PPPLuxembourg: 26,429 USD at PPPLatvia: 8,857 USD at PPPMexico: 3,622 USD at PPPNetherlands: 15,241 USD at PPPNorway: 18,682 USD at PPPNew Zealand: 10,170 USD at PPPPoland: 10,112 USD at PPPPortugal: 11,023 USD at PPPSweden: 16,076 USD at PPPSlovenia: 11,338 USD at PPPSlovakia: 8,966 USD at PPPTürkiye: 6,132 USD at PPPUnited States: 19,382 USD at PPP
  • Under 8,900
  • 8,900 to 11K
  • 11K to 12K
  • 12K to 15K
  • 15K to 16K
  • 16K and over
  • No data
USD at PPP, 2019. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: OECD, OECD Education at a Glance: total expenditure on educational institutions per full-time equivalent student, primary to tertiary, US dollars at current prices and PPPs (DSD_EAG_UOE_FIN@DF_UOE_INDIC_FIN_PERSTUD). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All countries, 2019

Luxembourg: 26,429 USD at PPPLuxembourg26,429United States: 19,382 USD at PPPUnited States19,382Norway: 18,682 USD at PPPNorway18,682Austria: 17,922 USD at PPPAustria17,922Denmark: 16,165 USD at PPPDenmark16,165Sweden: 16,076 USD at PPPSweden16,076United Kingdom: 15,877 USD at PPPUnited Kingdom15,877Iceland: 15,801 USD at PPPIceland15,801Belgium: 15,699 USD at PPPBelgium15,699Germany: 15,312 USD at PPPGermany15,312Netherlands: 15,241 USD at PPPNetherlands15,241Canada: 14,733 USD at PPPCanada14,733South Korea: 14,097 USD at PPPSouth Korea14,097France: 13,653 USD at PPPFrance13,653Finland: 13,301 USD at PPPFinland13,301Japan: 12,604 USD at PPPJapan12,604Czechia: 12,148 USD at PPPCzechia12,148Ireland: 11,618 USD at PPPIreland11,618Italy: 11,417 USD at PPPItaly11,417Slovenia: 11,338 USD at PPPSlovenia11,338Spain: 11,208 USD at PPPSpain11,208Portugal: 11,023 USD at PPPPortugal11,023Estonia: 10,990 USD at PPPEstonia10,990Israel: 10,228 USD at PPPIsrael10,228New Zealand: 10,170 USD at PPPNew Zealand10,170Poland: 10,112 USD at PPPPoland10,112Hungary: 9,138 USD at PPPHungary9,138Slovakia: 8,966 USD at PPPSlovakia8,966Latvia: 8,857 USD at PPPLatvia8,857Lithuania: 8,548 USD at PPPLithuania8,548Chile: 7,428 USD at PPPChile7,428Greece: 6,236 USD at PPPGreece6,236Türkiye: 6,132 USD at PPPTürkiye6,132Mexico: 3,622 USD at PPPMexico3,622Luxembourg: 26,429 USD at PPPLuxembourg26,429United States: 19,382 USD at PPPUnited States19,382Norway: 18,682 USD at PPPNorway18,682Austria: 17,922 USD at PPPAustria17,922Denmark: 16,165 USD at PPPDenmark16,165Sweden: 16,076 USD at PPPSweden16,076United Kingdom: 15,877 USD at PPPUnited Kingdom15,877Iceland: 15,801 USD at PPPIceland15,801Belgium: 15,699 USD at PPPBelgium15,699Germany: 15,312 USD at PPPGermany15,312Netherlands: 15,241 USD at PPPNetherlands15,241Canada: 14,733 USD at PPPCanada14,733South Korea: 14,097 USD at PPPSouth Korea14,097France: 13,653 USD at PPPFrance13,653Finland: 13,301 USD at PPPFinland13,301Japan: 12,604 USD at PPPJapan12,604Czechia: 12,148 USD at PPPCzechia12,148Ireland: 11,618 USD at PPPIreland11,618Italy: 11,417 USD at PPPItaly11,417Slovenia: 11,338 USD at PPPSlovenia11,338Spain: 11,208 USD at PPPSpain11,208Portugal: 11,023 USD at PPPPortugal11,023Estonia: 10,990 USD at PPPEstonia10,990Israel: 10,228 USD at PPPIsrael10,228New Zealand: 10,170 USD at PPPNew Zealand10,170Poland: 10,112 USD at PPPPoland10,112Hungary: 9,138 USD at PPPHungary9,138Slovakia: 8,966 USD at PPPSlovakia8,966Latvia: 8,857 USD at PPPLatvia8,857Lithuania: 8,548 USD at PPPLithuania8,548Chile: 7,428 USD at PPPChile7,428Greece: 6,236 USD at PPPGreece6,236Türkiye: 6,132 USD at PPPTürkiye6,132Mexico: 3,622 USD at PPPMexico3,622
USD at PPP. Source: OECD, OECD Education at a Glance: total expenditure on educational institutions per full-time equivalent student, primary to tertiary, US dollars at current prices and PPPs (DSD_EAG_UOE_FIN@DF_UOE_INDIC_FIN_PERSTUD). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCountries2019
USD at PPP
Change on 2018
1Luxembourg26,429+11.3%
2United States19,382+4.2%
3Norway18,682+3.9%
4Austria17,922+6.6%
5Denmark16,165+7.2%
6Sweden16,076+5.2%
7United Kingdom15,877+5%
8Iceland15,801+8.8%
9Belgium15,699+7%
10Germany15,312+7.8%
11Netherlands15,241+5.1%
12Canada14,733-0.5%
13South Korea14,097+7.8%
14France13,653+9.6%
15Finland13,301+9.7%
16Japan12,604+3.8%
17Czechia12,148+15.4%
18Ireland11,618+4.1%
19Italy11,417+0.1%
20Slovenia11,338+9%
21Spain11,208+8.6%
22Portugal11,023+6.3%
23Estonia10,990+7.3%
24Israel10,228+2.4%
25New Zealand10,170+7.2%
26Poland10,112+12.9%
27Hungary9,138+10.5%
28Slovakia8,966+15.3%
29Latvia8,857+13.4%
30Lithuania8,548+16.5%
31Chile7,428+1.1%
32Greece6,236+10.4%
33Türkiye6,132+7.8%
34Mexico3,622+0.9%

Other periods

About this ranking

Total expenditure on educational institutions from public, private and international sources per full-time equivalent student, primary to tertiary education (ISCED 2011 levels 1 to 8), in US dollars at current prices converted with purchasing power parities for GDP.

Includes research and development spending at universities. Countries do not report every year, and the latest year usually lags by about three years.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the countries are compared on one definition. 3 countries with data in other periods have no value for 2019 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

OECD. OECD Education at a Glance: total expenditure on educational institutions per full-time equivalent student, primary to tertiary, US dollars at current prices and PPPs (DSD_EAG_UOE_FIN@DF_UOE_INDIC_FIN_PERSTUD). https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EAG_UOE_FIN%40DF_UOE_INDIC_FIN_PERSTUD&df[ag]=OECD.EDU.IMEP. Accessed 2026-10-12. Data reuse terms and downstream attribution: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html

Citation styles

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APA 7

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2026). OECD Education at a Glance: total expenditure on educational institutions per full-time equivalent student, primary to tertiary, US dollars at current prices and PPPs (DSD_EAG_UOE_FIN@DF_UOE_INDIC_FIN_PERSTUD) (Countries by spending per student, primary to tertiary, 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EAG_UOE_FIN%40DF_UOE_INDIC_FIN_PERSTUD&df[ag]=OECD.EDU.IMEP

MLA 9

OECD Education at a Glance: total expenditure on educational institutions per full-time equivalent student, primary to tertiary, US dollars at current prices and PPPs (DSD_EAG_UOE_FIN@DF_UOE_INDIC_FIN_PERSTUD), Countries by spending per student, primary to tertiary, 2019. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 12 Oct. 2026, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EAG_UOE_FIN%40DF_UOE_INDIC_FIN_PERSTUD&df[ag]=OECD.EDU.IMEP. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/spending-per-student/countries?period=2019. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2026. OECD Education at a Glance: total expenditure on educational institutions per full-time equivalent student, primary to tertiary, US dollars at current prices and PPPs (DSD_EAG_UOE_FIN@DF_UOE_INDIC_FIN_PERSTUD). Countries by spending per student, primary to tertiary, 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EAG_UOE_FIN%40DF_UOE_INDIC_FIN_PERSTUD&df[ag]=OECD.EDU.IMEP. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/spending-per-student/countries?period=2019.

Harvard

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2026) OECD Education at a Glance: total expenditure on educational institutions per full-time equivalent student, primary to tertiary, US dollars at current prices and PPPs (DSD_EAG_UOE_FIN@DF_UOE_INDIC_FIN_PERSTUD), Countries by spending per student, primary to tertiary, 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EAG_UOE_FIN%40DF_UOE_INDIC_FIN_PERSTUD&df[ag]=OECD.EDU.IMEP, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/spending-per-student/countries?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{organisation_countries_by_spending_per_2019,
  author = {{Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development}},
  title = {{OECD Education at a Glance: total expenditure on educational institutions per full-time equivalent student, primary to tertiary, US dollars at current prices and PPPs (DSD\_EAG\_UOE\_FIN@DF\_UOE\_INDIC\_FIN\_PERSTUD): Countries by spending per student, primary to tertiary, 2019}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EAG_UOE_FIN%40DF_UOE_INDIC_FIN_PERSTUD&df[ag]=OECD.EDU.IMEP},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/spending-per-student/countries?period=2019. Publisher attribution: OECD. OECD Education at a Glance: total expenditure on educational institutions per full-time equivalent student, primary to tertiary, US dollars at current prices and PPPs (DSD\_EAG\_UOE\_FIN@DF\_UOE\_INDIC\_FIN\_PERSTUD). https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ\&df[id]=DSD\_EAG\_UOE\_FIN\%40DF\_UOE\_INDIC\_FIN\_PERSTUD\&df[ag]=OECD.EDU.IMEP. Accessed 2026-10-12. Data reuse terms and downstream attribution: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
TI  - OECD Education at a Glance: total expenditure on educational institutions per full-time equivalent student, primary to tertiary, US dollars at current prices and PPPs (DSD_EAG_UOE_FIN@DF_UOE_INDIC_FIN_PERSTUD): Countries by spending per student, primary to tertiary, 2019
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/12
PB  - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EAG_UOE_FIN%40DF_UOE_INDIC_FIN_PERSTUD&df[ag]=OECD.EDU.IMEP
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/spending-per-student/countries?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/spending-per-student/countries?period=2019.
N1  - Publisher attribution: OECD. OECD Education at a Glance: total expenditure on educational institutions per full-time equivalent student, primary to tertiary, US dollars at current prices and PPPs (DSD_EAG_UOE_FIN@DF_UOE_INDIC_FIN_PERSTUD). https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=dsDisseminateFinalDMZ&df[id]=DSD_EAG_UOE_FIN%40DF_UOE_INDIC_FIN_PERSTUD&df[ag]=OECD.EDU.IMEP. Accessed 2026-10-12. Data reuse terms and downstream attribution: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/terms-conditions.html.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which country has the highest spending per student, primary to tertiary?

Luxembourg, with 26,429 USD at PPP in 2019, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Which country has the lowest spending per student, primary to tertiary?

Mexico, with 3,622 USD at PPP in 2019.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD Education at a Glance: total expenditure on educational institutions per full-time equivalent student, primary to tertiary, US dollars at current prices and PPPs (DSD_EAG_UOE_FIN@DF_UOE_INDIC_FIN_PERSTUD). Retrieved 2026-10-12. 3 countries have no value for 2019 and are not ranked.

Spending per student, primary to tertiary: other rankings

Countries: more rankings