Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in China
China: Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP was 0.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in China, 1971–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
China recorded 0.8% for government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in 2023. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in China peaked at 0.8% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 1971.
China ranks 75th of 173 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in China, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 0.2% | — |
| 1972 | 0.2% | +18.5% |
| 1973 | 0.3% | +13.3% |
| 1974 | 0.3% | +8.4% |
| 1975 | 0.3% | -3.0% |
| 1976 | 0.3% | +11.9% |
| 1977 | 0.3% | -5.2% |
| 1978 | 0.4% | +40.5% |
| 1979 | 0.6% | +39.3% |
| 1980 | 0.6% | +3.4% |
| 1981 | 0.6% | +4.9% |
| 1982 | 0.6% | +1.0% |
| 1983 | 0.7% | +8.8% |
| 1984 | 0.7% | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 0.7% | +1.0% |
| 1986 | 0.7% | +2.8% |
| 1987 | 0.6% | -17.6% |
| 1988 | 0.5% | -10.7% |
| 1992 | 0.4% | -17.4% |
| 1993 | 0.4% | -10.4% |
| 1994 | 0.4% | +10.4% |
| 1995 | 0.4% | -15.2% |
| 1996 | 0.4% | +1.2% |
| 1998 | 0.3% | -21.3% |
| 1999 | 0.4% | +57.4% |
| 2023 | 0.8% | +83.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.6% | 9 |
| 1980s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 9 |
| 1990s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 7 |
| 2020s | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near China
More education data for China
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.41 million (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 7,020 (2021)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 21.58 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 19.36 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 97.98 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 108.57 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.9587 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0771 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in China?
- Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in China was 0.8% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 0.8% in 2023.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 1971.
- How does China rank for government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp?
- China ranks 75th out of 173 countries with data for 2023.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release