Australia — Education spending
Government Education Spending (% of GDP) for Australia, 1978–2022.
Education spending for Australia was 5.06% in 2022, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 18 years, from 1978 to 2022. The highest recorded value was 6.00% in 1978. The lowest was 4.67% in 1990 (about 1.1× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -0.39% per year.
Australia ranks 55 of 172 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 32%. The median for East Asia & Pacific is 4.25%, so Australia sits above it. It peaked in 1978 and has fallen 16% since. Within East Asia & Pacific it ranks 11 of 25 economies; Brunei Darussalam (4.43%) is just below it. Its sharpest one-year move was up 18% in 1993.
Data highlights
World ranking. Slipped: 10th of 51 in 1978 → 14th of 63 in 1980 → 14th of 50 in 1990 → 44th of 157 in 2020 → 44th of 150 in 2022.
Key figures
Full history — 1978 to 2022
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5.06% | -0.3 pp |
| 2021 | 5.34% | -0.0 pp |
| 2020 | 5.39% | +0.1 pp |
| 1994 | 5.24% | -0.3 pp |
| 1993 | 5.51% | +0.8 pp |
| 1992 | 4.68% | -0.1 pp |
| 1991 | 4.78% | +0.1 pp |
| 1990 | 4.67% | -0.1 pp |
| 1989 | 4.74% | -0.2 pp |
| 1988 | 4.91% | -0.2 pp |
| 1987 | 5.06% | -0.2 pp |
| 1986 | 5.27% | -0.1 pp |
| 1985 | 5.4% | +0.0 pp |
| 1983 | 5.36% | -0.1 pp |
| 1982 | 5.47% | -0.2 pp |
| 1980 | 5.65% | -0.2 pp |
| 1979 | 5.89% | -0.1 pp |
| 1978 | 6% | — |
Frequently asked questions
What was Australia’s Education spending in 1979?
5.89% (1979). The full year-by-year table above lists every published year, most recent first.
Are changes in this series measured in percentage points?
Yes. The series is a share expressed in % of GDP, so year-over-year movements in the Change column are percentage points (pp), not percent.
Is Australia’s Education spending growing or shrinking?
Between 1978 and 2022 the series was shrinking overall: -15.7% in total — about 0.4% a year compounded.
Where does this data come from?
World Bank Open Data (CC BY-4.0), indicator SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS. Values are reproduced as published; this page only computes summary statistics such as change, CAGR and extremes.
What are the most recent published figures?
The last five published years: 2022: 5.06%; 2021: 5.34%; 2020: 5.39%; 1994: 5.24%; 1993: 5.51%. Earlier years are in the full-history table below.
Related data
SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS — Government Education Spending (% of GDP). Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.