Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Australia
Australia: Government spending on education as a share of GDP was 5.1% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Australia, 1937–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2022, government spending on education as a share of gdp in Australia stood at 5.1%.
The figure is down 5.3% on the previous year.
Over the whole period, government spending on education as a share of gdp in Australia peaked at 6.0% in 1978 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 1937.
Australia ranks 63rd of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Australia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1937 | 0.7% | — |
| 1960 | 1.4% | +100.0% |
| 1978 | 6.0% | +328.6% |
| 1979 | 5.9% | -1.9% |
| 1980 | 5.6% | -4.1% |
| 1982 | 5.5% | -3.1% |
| 1983 | 5.4% | -2.0% |
| 1985 | 5.4% | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 5.3% | -2.4% |
| 1987 | 5.1% | -4.0% |
| 1988 | 4.9% | -3.0% |
| 1989 | 4.7% | -3.4% |
| 1990 | 4.7% | -1.5% |
| 1991 | 4.8% | +2.5% |
| 1992 | 4.7% | -2.1% |
| 1993 | 5.5% | +17.6% |
| 1994 | 5.2% | -4.7% |
| 2020 | 5.4% | +2.7% |
| 2021 | 5.3% | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 5.1% | -5.3% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 5.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 4.4%, 1.1× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- Australia's 5.1% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 4.2%, 1.2× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Australia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | +328.6% | 1.4% | 6.0% |
| 1960 | +100.0% | 0.7% | 1.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 1 |
| 1960s | 1.4% | 1.4% | 1.4% | 1 |
| 1970s | 5.9% | 5.9% | 6.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 5.2% | 4.7% | 5.6% | 8 |
| 1990s | 5.0% | 4.7% | 5.5% | 5 |
| 2020s | 5.3% | 5.1% | 5.4% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More education data for Australia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 104,110 (1992)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 316,638 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 292,593 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.65 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.27 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.4362 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0835 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education as a share of gdp in Australia?
- Government spending on education as a share of gdp in Australia was 5.1% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 6.0% in 1978.
- What is the lowest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 1937.
- How does Australia rank for government spending on education as a share of gdp?
- Australia ranks 63rd out of 199 countries with data for 2022.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Government spending on education as a share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total annual general government spending on all levels of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP.