France — Education spending
Government Education Spending (% of GDP) for France, 1970–2022.
Education spending for France was 5.32% in 2022, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 34 years, from 1970 to 2022. The highest recorded value was 5.81% in 1995. The lowest was 3.21% in 1971 (about 1.7× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 0.83% per year.
France ranks 40 of 172 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 23%. The median for Europe & Central Asia is 4.59%, so France sits above it. It peaked in 1995 and has fallen 8% since. Over the last decade (2017–2022) the figure moved down 3%. Within Europe & Central Asia it ranks 11 of 45 economies; Slovenia (5.28%) is just below it. Its sharpest one-year move was up 31% in 1974. That is 2% below this series' own ten-year average.
Data highlights
Doubling roughly every 84 years at that pace.
World ranking. Slipped: 16th of 31 in 1970 → 29th of 63 in 1980 → 16th of 50 in 1990 → 33rd of 157 in 2020 → 34th of 150 in 2022.
Key figures
Full history — 1970 to 2022
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5.32% | -0.1 pp |
| 2021 | 5.42% | -0.2 pp |
| 2020 | 5.66% | +0.3 pp |
| 2019 | 5.37% | -0.1 pp |
| 2018 | 5.43% | -0.0 pp |
| 2017 | 5.46% | -0.2 pp |
| 1998 | 5.71% | -0.1 pp |
| 1996 | 5.78% | -0.0 pp |
| 1995 | 5.81% | +0.2 pp |
| 1994 | 5.66% | +0.2 pp |
| 1993 | 5.46% | +0.7 pp |
| 1992 | 4.78% | -0.1 pp |
| 1991 | 4.88% | +0.3 pp |
| 1990 | 4.56% | +0.1 pp |
| 1989 | 4.49% | -0.1 pp |
| 1988 | 4.58% | -0.1 pp |
| 1987 | 4.66% | -0.1 pp |
| 1986 | 4.75% | -0.2 pp |
| 1985 | 4.9% | -0.0 pp |
| 1984 | 4.92% | +0.0 pp |
| 1983 | 4.91% | +0.0 pp |
| 1982 | 4.91% | +0.1 pp |
| 1981 | 4.78% | +0.4 pp |
| 1980 | 4.35% | +0.0 pp |
| 1979 | 4.32% | -0.1 pp |
| 1978 | 4.39% | -0.1 pp |
| 1977 | 4.47% | +0.0 pp |
| 1976 | 4.47% | -0.0 pp |
| 1975 | 4.48% | +0.2 pp |
| 1974 | 4.28% | +1.0 pp |
| 1973 | 3.26% | -0.1 pp |
| 1972 | 3.39% | +0.2 pp |
| 1971 | 3.21% | -0.3 pp |
| 1970 | 3.47% | — |
Frequently asked questions
What was France’s Education spending in 1971?
3.21% (1971). 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 France’s Education spending growing or shrinking?
Between 1970 and 2022 the series was growing overall: +53.6% in total — about 0.8% 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: 5.32%; 2021: 5.42%; 2020: 5.66%; 2019: 5.37%; 2018: 5.43%. 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.