Capital expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public in United States of America
United States of America: Capital expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public was 9.6% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Latest (2021)
9.6%
Change on year
down 4.0%
World rank
47th
of 124 countries
All-time high
10.0%
in 2020
All-time low
7.4%
in 2016
Years of data
7
2015–2021
Capital expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public in United States of America, 2015–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2021, capital expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public in United States of America stood at 9.6%.
The figure is down 4.0% on the previous year and up 10.9% over ten years.
That places United States of America 47th out of 124 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
Capital expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public in United States of America, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 8.7% | — |
| 2016 | 7.4% | -14.5% |
| 2017 | 9.2% | +24.8% |
| 2018 | 9.4% | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 9.6% | +2.1% |
| 2020 | 10.0% | +4.4% |
| 2021 | 9.6% | -4.0% |
United States of America compared with similar countries
- United States of America's 9.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 7.9%, 1.2× the median. (54 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 8.8% | 7.4% | 9.6% | 5 |
| 2020s | 9.8% | 9.6% | 10.0% | 2 |
Countries ranked near United States of America
More education data for United States of America
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 1.74 million (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 419,732 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 4.34 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 4.14 million (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 25.35 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 23.83 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.33 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0708 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is capital expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public in United States of America?
- Capital expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public in United States of America was 9.6% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest capital expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public recorded in United States of America?
- The highest recorded value was 10.0% in 2020.
- What is the lowest capital expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public recorded in United States of America?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.4% in 2016.
- How does United States of America rank for capital expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public?
- United States of America ranks 47th out of 124 countries with data for 2021.
- Is capital expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public rising or falling in United States of America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States of America data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Capital expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public institutions (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 7 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release