Education spending in China
China: Education spending was 3.9 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Education spending in China, 1971–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for education spending in China is 3.9, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
Over the whole period, education spending in China peaked at 3.9 in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.39, in 1971.
That places China 111th out of 199 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Education spending in China, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 1.39 | — |
| 1972 | 1.6 | +15.6% |
| 1973 | 1.65 | +2.9% |
| 1974 | 1.76 | +6.7% |
| 1975 | 1.71 | -3.0% |
| 1976 | 1.81 | +6.3% |
| 1977 | 1.75 | -3.7% |
| 1978 | 1.96 | +12.0% |
| 1979 | 2.14 | +9.7% |
| 1980 | 1.91 | -11.0% |
| 1981 | 1.95 | +1.9% |
| 1982 | 2.03 | +4.4% |
| 1983 | 2.07 | +2.1% |
| 1984 | 1.99 | -3.8% |
| 1985 | 2 | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 2.06 | +2.7% |
| 1987 | 1.8 | -12.5% |
| 1988 | 1.76 | -2.2% |
| 1992 | 1.65 | -6.4% |
| 1993 | 1.65 | +0.2% |
| 1994 | 1.98 | +19.7% |
| 1995 | 1.83 | -7.3% |
| 1996 | 1.84 | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 1.83 | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 1.87 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | 3.9 | +108.3% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 3.9 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 4.25, 92% of the median. (54 countries reporting)
- China's 3.9 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 4.25, 92% of the median. (31 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Education spending in China 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | +108.3% | 1.87 | 3.9 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.75 | 1.39 | 2.14 | 9 |
| 1980s | 1.95 | 1.76 | 2.07 | 9 |
| 1990s | 1.81 | 1.65 | 1.98 | 7 |
| 2020s | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 1 |
Countries ranked near China
More education data for China
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 93.37 (1997)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 93.32 (1997)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.41 million (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 7,020 (2021)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 21.58 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 19.36 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 97.98 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 108.57 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9587 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is education spending in China?
- Education spending in China was 3.9 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest education spending recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 3.9 in 2023.
- What is the lowest education spending recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.39 in 1971.
- How does China rank for education spending?
- China ranks 111th out of 199 countries with data for 2023.
- Where does this China 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 — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).