Government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of GDP in Italy
Italy: Government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of GDP was 0.4% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of GDP in Italy, 1970–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Italy recorded 0.4% for government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp in 2022.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.0% on the previous year and down 10.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp in Italy peaked at 0.5% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 1970.
That places Italy 59th out of 169 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 41 years of available data.
Government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of GDP in Italy, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.1% | — |
| 1974 | 0.2% | +74.5% |
| 1975 | 0.2% | +20.8% |
| 1976 | 0.2% | +4.4% |
| 1978 | 0.2% | +12.1% |
| 1979 | 0.2% | +8.9% |
| 1983 | 0.2% | -0.2% |
| 1984 | 0.3% | +25.8% |
| 1985 | 0.3% | -0.2% |
| 1986 | 0.3% | +1.6% |
| 1988 | 0.3% | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 0.3% | +5.7% |
| 1993 | 0.3% | +3.7% |
| 1994 | 0.3% | -3.8% |
| 1995 | 0.3% | -2.0% |
| 1996 | 0.4% | +11.7% |
| 1998 | 0.4% | +7.0% |
| 1999 | 0.4% | -1.7% |
| 2000 | 0.4% | -4.9% |
| 2001 | 0.5% | +23.4% |
| 2002 | 0.4% | -16.4% |
| 2003 | 0.4% | +12.6% |
| 2004 | 0.4% | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 0.4% | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 0.5% | +10.0% |
| 2007 | 0.4% | -6.3% |
| 2008 | 0.5% | +4.9% |
| 2009 | 0.5% | -2.5% |
| 2010 | 0.4% | -6.1% |
| 2011 | 0.4% | -2.5% |
| 2012 | 0.4% | +5.0% |
| 2013 | 0.4% | +1.7% |
| 2014 | 0.5% | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 0.5% | +5.2% |
| 2016 | 0.4% | -7.0% |
| 2017 | 0.5% | +6.5% |
| 2018 | 0.5% | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 0.5% | +2.6% |
| 2020 | 0.5% | -1.8% |
| 2021 | 0.4% | -12.5% |
| 2022 | 0.4% | -5.0% |
Italy compared with similar countries
- Italy's 0.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.4%, 1.0× the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Italy's 0.4% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.6%, 71% of the median. (49 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of GDP in Italy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | +74.5% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 6 |
| 1980s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 5 |
| 1990s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 7 |
| 2000s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Italy
- 56 Switzerland 0.4% compare
- 57 Denmark 0.4% compare
- 58 Honduras 0.4% compare
- 60 Saint Kitts and Nevis 0.4% compare
- 61 Netherlands 0.4% compare
- 62 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 0.4% compare
More education data for Italy
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 423,797 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 6,592 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 667,641 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 620,157 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.61 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.63 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.167 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0445 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp in Italy?
- Government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp in Italy was 0.4% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Italy?
- The highest recorded value was 0.5% in 2019.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Italy?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 1970.
- How does Italy rank for government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp?
- Italy ranks 59th out of 169 countries with data for 2022.
- Is government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Italy?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Italy data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 41 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release