Current expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public in United States of America
United States of America: Current expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public was 90.4% in 2021. ▬ Flat
Latest (2021)
90.4%
Change on year
up 0.4%
World rank
80th
of 125 countries
All-time high
92.6%
in 2016
All-time low
90.0%
in 2020
Years of data
7
2015–2021
Current 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, current expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public in United States of America stood at 90.4%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.4% on the previous year and down 1.0% over ten years.
United States of America ranks 80th of 125 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Current expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public in United States of America, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 91.3% | — |
| 2016 | 92.6% | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 90.8% | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 90.6% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 90.4% | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 90.0% | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 90.4% | +0.4% |
United States of America compared with similar countries
- United States of America's 90.4% is below the median for high income countries, which is 92.1%, 98% of the median. (54 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 91.2% | 90.4% | 92.6% | 5 |
| 2020s | 90.2% | 90.0% | 90.4% | 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 current expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public in United States of America?
- Current expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public in United States of America was 90.4% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest current expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public recorded in United States of America?
- The highest recorded value was 92.6% in 2016.
- What is the lowest current expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public recorded in United States of America?
- The lowest recorded value was 90.0% in 2020.
- How does United States of America rank for current expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public?
- United States of America ranks 80th out of 125 countries with data for 2021.
- Is current expenditure as a percentage of total expenditure in public rising or falling in United States of America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this United States of America data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Current 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