Government spending on education as a share of GDP in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Government spending on education as a share of GDP was 5.9% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in United Kingdom, 1870–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for government spending on education as a share of gdp in United Kingdom is 5.9%, measured in 2021.
That represents a change of up 8.6% on the previous year and up 6.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education as a share of gdp in United Kingdom peaked at 6.4% in 1976 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 1870.
That places United Kingdom 32nd out of 199 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 51 years of available data.
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 0.1% | — |
| 1913 | 1.1% | +1000.0% |
| 1937 | 4.0% | +263.6% |
| 1960 | 4.3% | +7.5% |
| 1971 | 5.0% | +17.0% |
| 1972 | 5.2% | +2.5% |
| 1973 | 5.4% | +5.6% |
| 1974 | 5.4% | -1.1% |
| 1975 | 6.3% | +16.3% |
| 1976 | 6.4% | +2.5% |
| 1977 | 6.1% | -5.6% |
| 1980 | 5.1% | -16.4% |
| 1981 | 5.3% | +4.3% |
| 1982 | 5.2% | -1.9% |
| 1983 | 5.1% | -2.5% |
| 1984 | 4.9% | -3.2% |
| 1985 | 4.6% | -6.2% |
| 1986 | 4.4% | -4.6% |
| 1987 | 4.4% | -0.2% |
| 1988 | 4.3% | -2.4% |
| 1989 | 4.1% | -3.4% |
| 1990 | 4.1% | -1.7% |
| 1991 | 4.1% | +1.7% |
| 1992 | 4.3% | +5.1% |
| 1993 | 5.4% | +24.6% |
| 1994 | 4.9% | -10.2% |
| 1995 | 4.8% | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 4.4% | -9.5% |
| 1998 | 4.2% | -3.9% |
| 1999 | 4.0% | -5.2% |
| 2000 | 4.0% | +0.7% |
| 2001 | 4.1% | +2.0% |
| 2002 | 4.6% | +12.5% |
| 2003 | 4.8% | +4.1% |
| 2004 | 4.7% | -1.4% |
| 2005 | 4.9% | +4.1% |
| 2006 | 5.0% | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 4.9% | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 4.9% | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 5.1% | +3.1% |
| 2010 | 5.7% | +12.6% |
| 2011 | 5.6% | -2.2% |
| 2013 | 5.5% | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 5.6% | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 5.6% | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 5.4% | -2.3% |
| 2017 | 5.5% | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 5.2% | -4.6% |
| 2019 | 5.3% | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 5.4% | +3.4% |
| 2021 | 5.9% | +8.6% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 5.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 4.4%, 1.3× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 5.9% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 4.5%, 1.3× the median. (51 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government spending on education as a share of GDP in United Kingdom 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1913 | +1000.0% | 0.1% | 1.1% |
| 1937 | +263.6% | 1.1% | 4.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 1 |
| 1910s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1 |
| 1930s | 4.0% | 4.0% | 4.0% | 1 |
| 1960s | 4.3% | 4.3% | 4.3% | 1 |
| 1970s | 5.7% | 5.0% | 6.4% | 7 |
| 1980s | 4.7% | 4.1% | 5.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.5% | 4.0% | 5.4% | 9 |
| 2000s | 4.7% | 4.0% | 5.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.5% | 5.2% | 5.7% | 9 |
| 2020s | 5.7% | 5.4% | 5.9% | 2 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More education data for United Kingdom
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 388,714 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2012)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 830,495 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 790,556 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.40 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.86 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.0111 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.071 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education as a share of gdp in United Kingdom?
- Government spending on education as a share of gdp in United Kingdom was 5.9% in 2021, 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 United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 6.4% in 1976.
- What is the lowest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 1870.
- How does United Kingdom rank for government spending on education as a share of gdp?
- United Kingdom ranks 32nd out of 199 countries with data for 2021.
- Is government spending on education as a share of gdp rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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 — 51 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.