Key Findings: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States
The United States ranked the highest among the G-8 countries in terms of expenditure per student at the combined primary and secondary education levels as well as at the higher education level.
Two measures used to compare countries’ investment in education are expenditure per student (expressed in absolute terms) from both public and private sources and total expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). The latter measure allows a comparison of countries’ expenditure relative to their ability to finance education.
In 2003, expenditure per student for the United States was about $8,900 at the combined primary and secondary education levels and about $24,100 at the higher education level (figure 1a). Both of these figures were higher than the corresponding figures for the five other G-8 countries reporting data, which ranged from about $6,500 in Germany to $7,700 in Italy at the combined primary and secondary levels and from about $8,800 in Italy to $11,900 in the United Kingdom at the higher education level.
As previously noted, all of the G-8 countries spent more per student at the higher education level than at the combined primary and secondary education levels. However, as shown in figure 1b, all of the G-8 countries spent more money (i.e., in total dollars as a percentage of GDP) at the combined primary and secondary education levels than at the higher education level, where student enrollment is much lower. The United States spent 4.1 percent of its GDP on primary and secondary education, higher than the share of GDP spent on education at this level in Italy, Germany, and Japan. At the higher education level, the United States spent 2.9 percent of its GDP on education, higher than the percentage of GDP spent on education at this level than in any of the other G-8 countries.
Considering education expenditure at all levels combined, the United States spent a higher percentage of its GDP on education (7 percent) than did any of the other G-8 countries.
Figure 1a. Annual education expenditure per student, by education level and country: 2003
Figure 1b. Annual education expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), by education level and country: 2003
Definitions and Methodology
Per student expenditure is based on public and private full-timeequivalent (FTE) enrollment figures for the 2002–03 school year and current expenditure and capital outlays from both public and private sources, where data are available. Data for GDP per capita are for calendar year 2003. Dollar figures for education expenditure and GDP per capita were converted to U.S. equivalent dollars using purchasing power parities (PPPs), which equalize the purchasing power of different currencies. Using PPPs to convert all education expenditure data to US equivalent dollars allows for cost of living differences across countries to be taken into account. Withincountry consumer price indices are used to adjust the PPP indices to account for inflation because the fiscal year has a different starting date in different countries.
The national averages shown here do not represent the withincountry variation that may exist in the annual education expenditure per student.
As shown in the figures, education levels are defined according to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED). For more information on the ISCED levels, see appendix A.
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