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Digest of Education Statistics: 2009
Digest of Education Statistics: 2009

NCES 2010-013
April 2010


Table 26. Expenditures of educational institutions related to the gross domestic product, by level of institution: Selected years, 1929-30 through 2008-09
Year Gross domestic product (GDP) (in billions of current dollars) School year Expenditures for education in current dollars
All educational institutions All elementary and secondary schools All postsecondary degree-granting institutions
Amount (in millions) As a percent of GDP Amount (in millions) As a percent of GDP Amount (in millions) As a percent of GDP
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1929 $103.6 1929-30   $632 0.6
1939 92.2 1939-40   758 0.8
1949 267.2 1949-50   $8,494 3.2 $6,249 2.3 2,246 0.8
1959 506.6 1959-60   22,314 4.4 16,713 3.3 5,601 1.1
1961 544.8 1961-62   26,828 4.9 19,673 3.6 7,155 1.3
                 
1963 617.8 1963-64   32,003 5.2 22,825 3.7 9,178 1.5
1965 719.1 1965-66   40,558 5.6 28,048 3.9 12,509 1.7
1967 832.4 1967-68   51,558 6.2 35,077 4.2 16,481 2.0
1969 984.4 1969-70   64,227 6.5 43,183 4.4 21,043 2.1
1970 1,038.3 1970-71   71,575 6.9 48,200 4.6 23,375 2.3
                 
1971 1,126.8 1971-72   76,510 6.8 50,950 4.5 25,560 2.3
1972 1,237.9 1972-73   82,908 6.7 54,952 4.4 27,956 2.3
1973 1,382.3 1973-74   91,084 6.6 60,370 4.4 30,714 2.2
1974 1,499.5 1974-75   103,903 6.9 68,846 4.6 35,058 2.3
1975 1,637.7 1975-76   114,004 7.0 75,101 4.6 38,903 2.4
                 
1976 1,824.6 1976-77   121,793 6.7 79,194 4.3 42,600 2.3
1977 2,030.1 1977-78   132,515 6.5 86,544 4.3 45,971 2.3
1978 2,293.8 1978-79   143,733 6.3 93,012 4.1 50,721 2.2
1979 2,562.2 1979-80   160,075 6.2 103,162 4.0 56,914 2.2
1980 2,788.1 1980-81   176,378 6.3 112,325 4.0 64,053 2.3
                 
1981 3,126.8 1981-82   190,825 6.1 120,486 3.9 70,339 2.2
1982 3,253.2 1982-83   204,661 6.3 128,725 4.0 75,936 2.3
1983 3,534.6 1983-84   220,993 6.3 139,000 3.9 81,993 2.3
1984 3,930.9 1984-85   239,351 6.1 149,400 3.8 89,951 2.3
1985 4,217.5 1985-86   259,336 6.1 161,800 3.8 97,536 2.3
                 
1986 4,460.1 1986-87   301,785 6.3 175,200 3.9 113,786 2.4
1987 4,736.4 1987-88   301,786 6.4 187,999 4.0 113,787 2.4
1988 5,100.4 1988-89   333,245 6.5 209,377 4.1 123,867 2.4
1989 5,482.1 1989-90   365,825 6.7 231,170 4.2 134,656 2.5
1990 5,800.5 1990-91   395,318 6.8 249,230 4.3 146,088 2.5
                 
1991 5,992.1 1991-92   417,944 7.0 261,755 4.4 156,189 2.6
1992 6,342.3 1992-93   439,676 6.9 274,435 4.3 165,241 2.6
1993 6,667.4 1993-94   460,757 6.9 287,407 4.3 173,351 2.6
1994 7,085.2 1994-95   485,169 6.8 302,200 4.3 182,969 2.6
1995 7,414.7 1995-96   508,523 6.9 318,046 4.3 190,476 2.6
                 
1996 7,838.5 1996-97   538,854 6.9 338,951 4.3 199,903 2.6
1997 8,332.4 1997-98   570,471 6.8 361,615 4.3 208,856 2.5
1998 8,793.5 1998-99   603,847 6.9 384,638 4.4 219,209 2.5
1999 9,353.5 1999-2000   649,322 6.9 412,538 4.4 236,784 2.5
2000 9,951.5 2000-01   705,017 7.1 444,811 4.5 260,206 2.6
                 
2001 10,286.2 2001-02   752,780 7.3 472,064 4.6 280,715 2.7
2002 10,642.3 2002-03   795,691 7.5 492,807 4.6 302,884 2.8
2003 11,142.1 2003-04   830,293 7.5 513,542 4.6 316,751 2.8
2004 11,867.8 2004-05   875,988 7.4 540,969 4.6 335,019 2.8
2005 12,638.4 2005-06   925,712 7.3 572,135 4.5 353,577 2.8
                 
2006 13,398.9 2006-07   984,192 7.3 608,653 4.5 375,539 2.8
2007 14,077.6 2007-08 1  1,053,000 7.5 645,000 4.6 408,000 2.9
2008 14,441.4 2008-09 1  1,093,000 7.6 661,000 4.6 432,000 3.0
—Not available.
1 Estimated.
NOTE: Total expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools include current expenditures, interest on school debt, and capital outlay. Data for private elementary and secondary schools are estimated. Expenditures for colleges and universities in 1929-30 and 1939-40 include current-fund expenditures and additions to plant value. Public and private degree-granting institutions data for 1949-50 through 1995-96 are for current-fund expenditures. Data for private degree-granting institutions for 1996-97 and later years are for total expenditures. Data for public degree-granting institutions for 1996-97 through 2000-01 are for current expenditures; data for later years are for total expenditures. Data through 1995-96 are for institutions of higher education, while later data are for degree-granting institutions. Degree-granting institutions grant associate’s or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid
programs. The degree-granting classification is very similar to the earlier higher education classification, but it includes more 2-year colleges and excludes a few higher education institutions that did not grant degrees. (See Appendix A: Guide to Sources for details.) Some data have been revised from previously published figures. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Biennial Survey of Education in the United States, 1929-30 through 1949-50; Statistics of State School Systems, 1951-52 through 1969-70; Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education, 1970-71 through 1986-87; Common Core of Data (CCD), "National Public Education Financial Survey," 1987-88 through 2006-07; Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS), Financial Statistics of Institutions of Higher Education, 1965-66 through 1985-86; 1986-87 through 2006-07 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, "Finance Survey" (IPEDS-F:FY87-99), and Spring 2002 through Spring 2008. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Income and Product Accounts Tables, retrieved September 24, 2009, from http://www.bea.gov/national/nipaweb/SelectTable.asp?Selected=N. (This table was prepared September 2009.)