Government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of GDP in United States of America
United States of America: Government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of GDP was 1.8% in 2021. ▬ Flat
Latest (2021)
1.8%
Change on year
up 4.3%
World rank
48th
of 165 countries
All-time high
1.8%
in 2021
All-time low
1.7%
in 2016
Years of data
7
2015–2021
Government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of GDP in United States of America, 2015–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2021, government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of gdp in United States of America stood at 1.8%. That is the highest value across all 7 years on record.
The figure is up 4.3% on the previous year and up 5.4% over ten years.
That places United States of America 48th out of 165 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
Government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of GDP in United States of America, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1.7% | — |
| 2016 | 1.7% | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 1.7% | +2.0% |
| 2018 | 1.7% | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 1.7% | -0.3% |
| 2020 | 1.7% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 1.8% | +4.3% |
United States of America compared with similar countries
- United States of America's 1.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.5%, 1.2× the median. (63 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 1.7% | 1.7% | 1.7% | 5 |
| 2020s | 1.8% | 1.7% | 1.8% | 2 |
Countries ranked near United States of America
More education data for United States of America
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 1.74 million (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 419,732 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 4.34 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 4.14 million (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 25.35 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 23.83 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.33 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0708 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of gdp in United States of America?
- Government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of gdp in United States of America was 1.8% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in United States of America?
- The highest recorded value was 1.8% in 2021.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in United States of America?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 2016.
- How does United States of America rank for government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of gdp?
- United States of America ranks 48th out of 165 countries with data for 2021.
- Is government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in United States of America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this United States of America data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Government expenditure on secondary education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 7 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release