Denmark vs Sweden: Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP
Denmark
2.2%
in 2022
Sweden
1.7%
in 2022
Denmark rank
7th
Sweden rank
9th
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP over time
- Denmark
- Sweden
How they compare
Denmark currently reports 2.2% against 1.7% in Sweden, a difference of 0.5%.
That makes Denmark's figure about 1.2 times Sweden's.
Across all 30 years both countries report, Denmark has been ahead every year.
Denmark ranks 7th and Sweden ranks 9th of 173 countries.
Denmark has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Denmark | Sweden | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.1% | Denmark |
| 1980s | 1.0% | 0.7% | 0.3% | Denmark |
| 1990s | 1.9% | 1.6% | 0.3% | Denmark |
| 2000s | 2.4% | 1.8% | 0.5% | Denmark |
| 2010s | 2.4% | 1.9% | 0.5% | Denmark |
| 2020s | 2.3% | 1.8% | 0.5% | Denmark |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp, Denmark or Sweden?
- Denmark, at 2.2% against 1.7% in Sweden as of 2022.
- What is the difference in government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp between Denmark and Sweden?
- 0.5%, with Denmark ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Denmark and Sweden?
- 30 years are reported by both, from 1979 to 2022.
- How do Denmark and Sweden rank globally for government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp?
- Denmark ranks 7th and Sweden ranks 9th of 173 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
February 2026 Data Release