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United Kingdom — Education spending
Government Education Spending (% of GDP) for United Kingdom, 1971–2021.
Latest value · 2021
5.91%
Government Education Spending (% of GDP) · % of GDP · +17.4% since 1971
Education spending for United Kingdom was 5.91% in 2021, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 46 years, from 1971 to 2021. The highest recorded value was 6.42% in 1976. The lowest was 3.99% in 1999 (about 1.5× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 0.32% per year.
United Kingdom ranks 28 of 172 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 16%. The median for Europe & Central Asia is 4.59%, so United Kingdom sits above it. It peaked in 1976 and has fallen 8% since. Over the last decade (2011–2021) the figure moved up 6%.
Key figures
Latest (2021)
5.91%
First (1971)
5.03%
Change
+17.4%
Highest
6.42%
in 1976
Lowest
3.99%
in 1999
Average
4.99%
Annual growth (CAGR)
0.32%
Years of data
46
Recent years
| Year | % of GDP |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 5.91% |
| 2020 | 5.44% |
| 2019 | 5.26% |
| 2018 | 5.2% |
| 2017 | 5.45% |
| 2016 | 5.43% |
| 2015 | 5.55% |
| 2014 | 5.6% |
| 2013 | 5.53% |
| 2011 | 5.57% |
| 2010 | 5.7% |
| 2009 | 5.06% |
Reading this correctly. Total general government expenditure on education, expressed as a percentage of GDP. Includes both current and capital spending. Figures are in % of GDP. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
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.