Education spending in Canada
Canada: Education spending was 4.84 in 2022. ▼ Falling
Education spending in Canada, 1960–2022
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2022, education spending in Canada stood at 4.84.
That represents a change of up 2.0% on the previous year and down 7.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, education spending in Canada peaked at 7.68 in 1971 and was at its lowest, 4.59, in 2013.
Canada ranks 70th of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 47 years of available data.
Education spending in Canada, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 4.6 | — |
| 1971 | 7.68 | +67.1% |
| 1972 | 7.59 | -1.2% |
| 1973 | 7.01 | -7.6% |
| 1974 | 6.67 | -4.9% |
| 1975 | 6.42 | -3.7% |
| 1976 | 6.7 | +4.3% |
| 1977 | 6.71 | +0.2% |
| 1978 | 7.07 | +5.4% |
| 1979 | 6.69 | -5.4% |
| 1980 | 6.46 | -3.4% |
| 1981 | 6.41 | -0.8% |
| 1982 | 6.5 | +1.4% |
| 1983 | 6.86 | +5.5% |
| 1984 | 6.62 | -3.5% |
| 1985 | 6.19 | -6.5% |
| 1986 | 6.02 | -2.7% |
| 1987 | 6.3 | +4.6% |
| 1988 | 6.15 | -2.4% |
| 1989 | 6.07 | -1.2% |
| 1990 | 5.97 | -1.7% |
| 1991 | 6.86 | +14.9% |
| 1992 | 6.75 | -1.6% |
| 1993 | 7.68 | +13.8% |
| 1994 | 6.66 | -13.3% |
| 1995 | 6.3 | -5.3% |
| 1998 | 5.49 | -12.9% |
| 1999 | 5.53 | +0.7% |
| 2000 | 5.42 | -1.9% |
| 2001 | 4.95 | -8.7% |
| 2002 | 4.99 | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 4.77 | -4.5% |
| 2007 | 4.77 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 4.63 | -2.9% |
| 2009 | 4.84 | +4.6% |
| 2010 | 5.36 | +10.7% |
| 2011 | 5.26 | -1.8% |
| 2013 | 4.59 | -12.8% |
| 2014 | 4.84 | +5.5% |
| 2015 | 4.74 | -2.2% |
| 2016 | 4.82 | +1.6% |
| 2017 | 4.96 | +3.0% |
| 2018 | 4.89 | -1.4% |
| 2019 | 4.77 | -2.4% |
| 2020 | 4.89 | +2.4% |
| 2021 | 4.75 | -2.9% |
| 2022 | 4.84 | +2.0% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 4.84 is above the median for high income countries, which is 4.4, 1.1× the median. (72 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Education spending in Canada 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | +67.1% | 4.6 | 7.68 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 1 |
| 1970s | 6.95 | 6.42 | 7.68 | 9 |
| 1980s | 6.36 | 6.02 | 6.86 | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.41 | 5.49 | 7.68 | 8 |
| 2000s | 4.91 | 4.63 | 5.42 | 7 |
| 2010s | 4.91 | 4.59 | 5.36 | 9 |
| 2020s | 4.83 | 4.75 | 4.89 | 3 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More education data for Canada
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 95.11 (2023)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 95.01 (2023)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 133,275 (1996)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2011)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 291,075 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 273,465 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.70 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.43 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.83 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is education spending in Canada?
- Education spending in Canada was 4.84 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest education spending recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 7.68 in 1971.
- What is the lowest education spending recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.59 in 2013.
- How does Canada rank for education spending?
- Canada ranks 70th out of 199 countries with data for 2022.
- Is education spending rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Canada data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Education spending. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 47 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).