Education Spending per Student by Country 2026: Charts & Rankings
Country ranking for the official public spending indicator: government funding per secondary student, expressed as a percentage of GDP per capita. The edition year is 2026; displayed observations retain their official source years and are not projected.
Spending Statistics
Snapshot values use the embedded country table and the same selected indicator.
Per-Student Spending Ranking
The chart ranks the embedded official-source country records by reported public spending per secondary student.
Government Funding per Secondary Student
Latest verified displayed source record for each country or economy, measured as a percentage of GDP per capita.
Values are rounded visually in the page; ranks use the unrounded source values stored in the table.
Chart analysis
- Anguilla has the highest displayed value at 24.62% of GDP per capita.
- Albania has the lowest displayed value at 5.87%.
- The displayed spread between highest and lowest values is 18.76 percentage points.
- Five displayed economies report values above 17% of GDP per capita.
- Source years differ by economy, so the ranking compares latest verified displayed records rather than one common calendar year.
Country Spending Table: Verified Official Records
The table uses the selected secondary-level public funding indicator. Values are reported as a percentage of GDP per capita.
| Rank | Country / Economy | Region | Value | Year | Unit | Source | Metric note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anguilla | Caribbean | 24.62 | 2008 | % of GDP per capita | UIS / UNdata archive | Secondary, government funding |
| 2 | United States | North America | 22.81 | 2012 | % of GDP per capita | UIS / UNdata archive | Secondary, government funding |
| 3 | Argentina | Latin America | 21.43 | 2013 | % of GDP per capita | UIS / UNdata archive | Secondary, government funding |
| 4 | Australia | Oceania | 19.78 | 2010 | % of GDP per capita | UIS / UNdata archive | Secondary, government funding |
| 5 | Algeria | Northern Africa | 17.93 | 2003 | % of GDP per capita | UIS / UNdata archive | Secondary, government funding |
| 6 | Aruba | Caribbean | 17.61 | 2005 | % of GDP per capita | UIS / UNdata archive | Secondary, government funding |
| 7 | Armenia | Europe & Central Asia | 15.00 | 2014 | % of GDP per capita | UIS / UNdata archive | Secondary, government funding |
| 8 | Andorra | Europe & Central Asia | 11.66 | 2014 | % of GDP per capita | UIS / UNdata archive | Secondary, government funding |
| 9 | Antigua and Barbuda | Caribbean | 9.79 | 2011 | % of GDP per capita | UIS / UNdata archive | Secondary, government funding |
| 10 | Albania | Europe & Central Asia | 5.87 | 2013 | % of GDP per capita | UIS / UNdata archive | Secondary, government funding |
Table analysis
- The table ranks 10 verified official-source records for the same secondary-level public funding metric.
- Anguilla, United States, and Argentina are the three highest displayed records.
- Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, and Andorra are the three lowest displayed records.
- The source years range from 2003 for Algeria to 2014 for Armenia and Andorra.
- The table should not be read as a 2026 observation table; 2026 is the publication edition year.
- The unit is relative to national income per person, so it is not the same as USD, PPP dollars, or total education spending.
Long-Run Spending Trend
Historical records are shown only where the verified official extract contains more than one reported year.
United States Source Series, 1998–2012
Government funding per secondary student, measured as a percentage of GDP per capita.
The line chart uses the full verified United States series available in the embedded source extract.
Trend analysis
- The United States series rises from 21.53% in 1998 to 22.81% in 2012.
- The highest value in the displayed United States series is 24.51% in 2003.
- The 1998–2012 change is +1.28 percentage points.
- The 2002–2012 change is -0.61 percentage points.
- The series remains within a narrow band from 21.45% to 24.51%.
| Country / Economy | Earliest year | Earliest value | Latest year | Latest value | Change | Records | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 1998 | 21.53 | 2012 | 22.81 | +1.28 pp | 15 | UIS / UNdata archive |
| Argentina | 1998 | 15.19 | 2013 | 21.43 | +6.24 pp | 16 | UIS / UNdata archive |
| Australia | 2000 | 13.97 | 2010 | 19.78 | +5.81 pp | 7 | UIS / UNdata archive |
| Andorra | 2002 | 6.22 | 2014 | 11.66 | +5.44 pp | 10 | UIS / UNdata archive |
| Algeria | 1999 | 21.16 | 2003 | 17.93 | -3.23 pp | 4 | UIS / UNdata archive |
| Aruba | 1999 | 18.56 | 2005 | 17.61 | -0.95 pp | 6 | UIS / UNdata archive |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 2009 | 12.47 | 2011 | 9.79 | -2.68 pp | 2 | UIS / UNdata archive |
| Armenia | 2012 | 16.68 | 2014 | 15.00 | -1.68 pp | 3 | UIS / UNdata archive |
| Albania | 2013 | 5.87 | 2013 | 5.87 | 0.00 pp | 1 | UIS / UNdata archive |
| Anguilla | 2008 | 24.62 | 2008 | 24.62 | 0.00 pp | 1 | UIS / UNdata archive |
Spending analysis
- Argentina has the largest positive change in the embedded trend table at +6.24 percentage points.
- Australia records a +5.81 percentage-point change between 2000 and 2010.
- Algeria has the largest negative change among multi-record rows at -3.23 percentage points.
- Single-record rows are retained for ranking transparency but do not support trend interpretation.
- Trend periods differ by country because official reporting years differ.
Regional Spending Summary
Regional values are simple unweighted averages of the embedded country records, not official regional aggregates.
Average Displayed Value by Region Group
Simple average of embedded country records, measured as a percentage of GDP per capita.
Single-country region groups are shown as their displayed country value; multi-country region groups use a simple unweighted mean.
| Region group | Records | Average | Highest value | Lowest value | Calculation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | 1 | 22.81 | 22.81 | 22.81 | Single displayed country record |
| Latin America | 1 | 21.43 | 21.43 | 21.43 | Single displayed country record |
| Oceania | 1 | 19.78 | 19.78 | 19.78 | Single displayed country record |
| Northern Africa | 1 | 17.93 | 17.93 | 17.93 | Single displayed country record |
| Caribbean | 3 | 17.34 | 24.62 | 9.79 | Simple unweighted average |
| Europe & Central Asia | 3 | 10.84 | 15.00 | 5.87 | Simple unweighted average |
Data analysis
- Caribbean and Europe & Central Asia are the only multi-record groups in the embedded regional table.
- The Caribbean group has the widest internal spread, from 9.79% to 24.62%.
- Europe & Central Asia has an embedded simple average of 10.84%.
- Regional values are page-level calculations and should not be treated as official regional aggregates.
Interpretation Notes
These notes define what the indicator can and cannot measure.
Relative spending measure
The indicator compares public spending per secondary student with GDP per capita. It does not show total public education budgets.
Different source years
Country records use the year reported by the source. A higher rank does not mean a higher 2026 value.
Level-specific indicator
The embedded ranking uses secondary education. Primary, tertiary, and total education spending are separate indicators.
No outcome ranking
The data does not rank education quality, learning outcomes, or school efficiency.
Source and Methodology
World Bank WDI indicator SE.XPD.SECO.PC.ZS, sourced from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Government expenditure per secondary student expressed as a percentage of GDP per capita.
UNESCO UIS Data Browser and UIS bulk data resources provide official education indicator releases.
UNdata UNESCO UIS archive supplies the verified numeric records embedded in the tables.
Percentage of GDP per capita. Displayed values are rounded to two decimals; ranking cells store unrounded values for sorting.
The embedded table includes verified official-source records available during page construction. Broader UIS/WDI coverage may contain additional country-year observations.
Ranking uses the latest verified displayed record for each country or economy in the embedded dataset. Regional summary values are simple unweighted page-level calculations from the same embedded records. Missing values are not imputed. No country value is converted into USD, PPP dollars, or a 2026 estimate.
The ranking is limited to the selected secondary-level public funding indicator and the verified official-source records embedded above. It is not a total education spending ranking, a per-student USD ranking, or an education outcome ranking. Source years vary by country, and no causal claim is made between spending and student performance.