Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Switzerland
Switzerland: Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP was 1.5% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Switzerland, 1970–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2022, government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Switzerland stood at 1.5%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.5% on the previous year and up 3.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Switzerland peaked at 2.2% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 1.0%, in 1971.
That places Switzerland 59th out of 162 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Switzerland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 1.2% | — |
| 1971 | 1.0% | -12.5% |
| 1972 | 1.0% | +1.7% |
| 1973 | 1.1% | +7.2% |
| 1974 | 1.1% | +2.9% |
| 1990 | 2.0% | +78.0% |
| 1991 | 2.2% | +6.9% |
| 1993 | 1.4% | -36.4% |
| 1994 | 1.4% | -1.3% |
| 1995 | 1.4% | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 1.4% | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 1.5% | +14.5% |
| 1999 | 1.5% | -1.9% |
| 2000 | 1.5% | -3.4% |
| 2001 | 1.5% | +3.8% |
| 2002 | 1.6% | +5.7% |
| 2003 | 1.6% | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 1.6% | -1.1% |
| 2005 | 1.5% | -5.4% |
| 2006 | 1.4% | -6.2% |
| 2007 | 1.3% | -4.8% |
| 2008 | 1.2% | -10.6% |
| 2009 | 1.4% | +14.3% |
| 2010 | 1.3% | -2.4% |
| 2011 | 1.4% | +4.5% |
| 2012 | 1.4% | +2.3% |
| 2013 | 1.5% | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 1.5% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 1.4% | -2.3% |
| 2016 | 1.4% | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 1.5% | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 1.4% | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 1.5% | +3.6% |
| 2020 | 1.6% | +5.7% |
| 2021 | 1.5% | -3.4% |
| 2022 | 1.5% | -2.5% |
Switzerland compared with similar countries
- Switzerland's 1.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.1%, 1.4× the median. (63 countries reporting)
- Switzerland's 1.5% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.1%, 1.3× the median. (41 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Switzerland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | +78.0% | 1.1% | 2.0% |
| 1993 | -36.4% | 2.2% | 1.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 5 |
| 1990s | 1.6% | 1.4% | 2.2% | 8 |
| 2000s | 1.5% | 1.2% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Switzerland
More education data for Switzerland
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 68,266 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 5,583 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 94,990 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 89,549 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 636,381 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 556,945 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.34 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0618 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Switzerland?
- Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Switzerland was 1.5% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Switzerland?
- The highest recorded value was 2.2% in 1991.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Switzerland?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.0% in 1971.
- How does Switzerland rank for government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp?
- Switzerland ranks 59th out of 162 countries with data for 2022.
- Is government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Switzerland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Switzerland data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release