Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Australia
Australia: Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP was 5.1% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Australia, 1978–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2022, government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Australia stood at 5.1%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.3% on the previous year.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Australia peaked at 6.0% in 1978 and was at its lowest, 4.7%, in 1990.
That places Australia 63rd out of 199 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 18 years of available data.
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 6.0% | — |
| 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% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Australia?
- Government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Australia was 5.1% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 6.0% in 1978.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.7% in 1990.
- How does Australia rank for government expenditure on education as a percentage 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, published as part of Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release