In 2018, the United States spent $14,400 per full-time-equivalent (FTE) student on elementary and secondary education, which was 34 percent higher than the average of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries of $10,800 (in constant 2020 U.S. dollars). At the postsecondary level, the United States spent $35,100 per FTE student, which was double the average of OECD countries ($17,600).
This indicator uses material from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to compare countries’ expenditures on education using two measures: expenditures on public and private education institutions per full-time-equivalent (FTE) student and total government and private expenditures on education institutions as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). The OECD is an organization of 38 countries that collects and publishes an array of data on its member countries. Education expenditures are from public revenue sources (governments) and private revenue sources, and they include current and capital expenditures. Private sources include payments from households for school-based expenses such as tuition, transportation fees, book rentals, and food services, as well as public funding via subsidies to households, private fees for education services, and other private spending that goes through the educational institution. The total government and private expenditures on education institutions as a percentage of GDP measure allows for a comparison of countries’ expenditures relative to their ability to finance education. Purchasing power parity (PPP) indexes are used to convert other currencies into U.S. dollars. Monetary amounts are in constant 2020 dollars based on national Consumer Price Indexes.1
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—Not available.
†Not applicable.
1 Methodology and/or data sources have been revised between 2010 and 2018. As a result, percentage changes in expenditures between 2010 and 2018 are not comparable.
2 Elementary and secondary education expenditures include preprimary education (for children ages 3 and older).
3 Elementary and secondary education expenditures exclude postsecondary nondegree programs. Postsecondary nondegree figures are treated as negligible.
4 Refers to the mean of the data values for all reporting Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, to which each country reporting data contributes equally. The average includes all current OECD countries for which a given year's data are available, even if they were not members of OECD in that year.
NOTE: Costa Rica and Switzerland are excluded from this figure because data on expenditures were unavailable for 2010 and 2018. Includes both government and private expenditures. Expenditures for International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) level 4 (postsecondary nondegree programs) are included in elementary and secondary education unless otherwise noted. Data adjusted to U.S. dollars using the purchasing power parity (PPP) index. Constant dollars based on national Consumer Price Indexes, available on the OECD database cited in the SOURCE note below. Some data have been revised from previously published figures. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.
SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Online Education Database. Retrieved October 7, 2021, from https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx. See Digest of Education Statistics 2021, table 605.10.
—Not available.
†Not applicable.
# Rounds to zero.
1 Methodology and/or data sources have been revised between 2010 and 2018. As a result, percentage changes in expenditures between 2010 and 2018 are not comparable.
2 Postsecondary nondegree programs included in both secondary and postsecondary education.
3 Refers to the mean of the data values for all reporting Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, to which each country reporting data contributes equally. The average includes all current OECD countries for which a given year's data are available, even if they were not members of OECD in that year.
4 Includes public institutions only.
NOTE: Switzerland is excluded from this figure because data on expenditures were unavailable for 2010 and 2018. Includes both government and private expenditures. Data adjusted to U.S. dollars using the purchasing power parity (PPP) index. Constant dollars based on national Consumer Price Indexes, available on the OECD database cited in the SOURCE note below. Some data have been revised from previously published figures. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.
SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Online Education Database. Retrieved October 7, 2021, from https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx. See Digest of Education Statistics 2021, table 605.10.
– Linear relationship between spending and country wealth for 36 OECD countries reporting data (elementary/secondary): R2 = .74; slope = 0.18; intercept = 2,129.
NOTE: Costa Rica and Switzerland are excluded from this figure because data on expenditures were not available for 2018. Includes both government and private expenditures. Expenditures for International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) level 4 (postsecondary nondegree programs) are included in elementary and secondary education except for Canada, Colombia, and Greece. Data on expenditures for Canada include preprimary education and exclude postsecondary nondegree programs. Data on expenditures for Colombia and Greece exclude postsecondary nondegree programs. Data adjusted to U.S. dollars using the purchasing power parity (PPP) index. Constant dollars based on national Consumer Price Indexes, available on the OECD database cited in the SOURCE note below. "OECD average" refers to the mean of the data values for all reporting Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, to which each country reporting data contributes equally. The average includes all current OECD countries for which a given year's data are available, even if they were not members of OECD in that year.
SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Online Education Database. Retrieved October 7, 2021, from https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx. See Digest of Education Statistics 2021, table 605.10.
– Linear relationship between spending and country wealth for 37 OECD countries reporting data (postsecondary): R2 = .65; slope = 0.37; intercept = 392.
NOTE: Switzerland is excluded from this figure because data on expenditures were not available for 2018. Includes both government and private expenditures. Data on expenditures for Japan include International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) level 4 (postsecondary nondegree programs). Data adjusted to U.S. dollars using the purchasing power parity (PPP) index. Constant dollars based on national Consumer Price Indexes, available on the OECD database cited in the SOURCE note below. "OECD average" refers to the mean of the data values for all reporting Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, to which each country reporting data contributes equally. The average includes all current OECD countries for which a given year's data are available, even if they were not members of OECD in that year.
SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Online Education Database. Retrieved October 7, 2021, from https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx. See Digest of Education Statistics 2021, table 605.10.
1 Refers to the mean of the data values for all reporting Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, to which each country reporting data contributes equally. The average includes all current OECD countries for which a given year's data are available, even if they were not members of OECD in that year.
2 Includes expenditures that could not be reported by level of education.
NOTE: Expenditures for International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) level 4 (postsecondary nondegree programs) are included in elementary and secondary education. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Online Education Database. Retrieved October 7, 2021, from https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx. See Digest of Education Statistics 2021, table 605.20.
1 National Consumer Price Indexes are available at the OECD Online Education Database (https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx). The data used for this indicator can be found in the “Consumer price indices (CPIs) –Complete database” table under “Prices and Purchasing Power Parities,” “Consumer and Producer Price Indices,” “Consumer price indices (CPIs)–Complete database.”
2 Costa Rica and Switzerland are excluded from analyses of expenditures per FTE student at the elementary/secondary level because 2018 expenditure data at this education level were not available for these countries.
3 The U.S. national average for expenditures per FTE student at the elementary/second level masks important variations in expenditures at the state level. See Digest table 236.75 for more information on current expenditures on elementary/secondary education by state and jurisdiction.
4 Throughout this indicator, the “average of OECD countries” refers to the simple average of the individual country values for all reporting OECD countries, to which each country reporting data contributes equally. The average includes all current OECD countries for which a given year’s data are available, even if they were not members of the OECD in that year. Countries excluded from analyses in this indicator may be included in the OECD average.
5 Switzerland is excluded from analyses of expenditures per FTE student at the postsecondary level because 2018 expenditure data at this education level were not available.
6 The 2010 average of OECD countries is based on 27 countries with available data, and the 2018 average of OECD countries is based on 36 countries. Users should exercise caution when comparing averages because of the impact of the inclusion or exclusion of countries from the calculations due to available data. The 2018 average of OECD countries for the 27 countries with data available for both 2010 and 2018 is $10,700.
7 The 2010 average of OECD countries is based on 25 countries with available data, and the 2018 average of OECD countries is based on 37 countries. Users should exercise caution when comparing averages because of the impact of the inclusion or exclusion of countries from the calculations due to available data. The 2018 average of the 25 OECD countries with data available for both 2010 and 2018 is $17,100.
8 In addition to these 16 countries, Switzerland also had a higher GDP per capita than the OECD average, but it is excluded from this analysis because it did not report data for elementary/secondary education expenditures per FTE student.
9 In addition to these 20 countries, Costa Rica also had a lower GDP per capita than the OECD average, but it is excluded from this analysis because it did not report data for elementary/secondary education expenditures per FTE student.
10 In addition to these 16 countries, Switzerland also had a higher GDP per capita than the OECD average, but it is excluded from this analysis because it did not report data for postsecondary education expenditures per FTE student.