Australia vs United States of America: Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government
Australia
13.9%
in 2022
United States of America
14.0%
in 2022
Australia rank
42nd
United States of America rank
41st
Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government over time
- Australia
- United States of America
How they compare
United States of America currently reports 14.0% against 13.9% in Australia, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 23 shared years of data; in 2000 it was United States of America ahead.
Australia ranks 42nd and United States of America ranks 41st of 123 countries.
Across the 3 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 1 and United States of America in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 15.3% | 16.9% | 1.6% | United States of America |
| 2010s | 15.5% | 15.7% | 0.2% | United States of America |
| 2020s | 13.8% | 13.0% | 0.8% | Australia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher expenditure on education as a percentage of total government, Australia or United States of America?
- United States of America, at 14.0% against 13.9% in Australia as of 2022.
- What is the difference in expenditure on education as a percentage of total government between Australia and United States of America?
- 0.1%, with United States of America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and United States of America?
- 23 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2022.
- How do Australia and United States of America rank globally for expenditure on education as a percentage of total government?
- Australia ranks 42nd and United States of America ranks 41st of 123 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government expenditure (%) (IMF calculation). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
February 2026 Data Release