Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Finland
Finland: Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP was 1.5% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Latest (2022)
1.5%
Change on year
down 3.7%
World rank
22nd
of 173 countries
All-time high
2.1%
in 1993
All-time low
0.6%
in 1971
Years of data
49
1970–2022
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Finland, 1970–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2022, government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Finland stood at 1.5%.
That represents a change of down 3.7% on the previous year and down 27.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Finland peaked at 2.1% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 1971.
Finland ranks 22nd of 173 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Finland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.6% | — |
| 1971 | 0.6% | -1.7% |
| 1972 | 0.6% | +8.9% |
| 1973 | 0.7% | +7.7% |
| 1974 | 0.7% | -1.6% |
| 1975 | 0.8% | +14.3% |
| 1976 | 0.8% | +4.1% |
| 1979 | 1.0% | +25.1% |
| 1980 | 1.0% | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 1.0% | +0.2% |
| 1982 | 1.0% | -1.8% |
| 1983 | 1.0% | -1.8% |
| 1984 | 1.0% | -1.5% |
| 1985 | 1.1% | +9.6% |
| 1986 | 1.0% | -4.2% |
| 1987 | 1.1% | +8.9% |
| 1988 | 1.2% | +3.9% |
| 1989 | 1.2% | +4.9% |
| 1990 | 1.4% | +12.2% |
| 1991 | 1.8% | +32.2% |
| 1992 | 2.0% | +9.0% |
| 1993 | 2.1% | +8.3% |
| 1994 | 1.8% | -16.5% |
| 1995 | 1.9% | +9.7% |
| 1996 | 1.9% | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 2.0% | +2.1% |
| 2000 | 1.9% | -2.1% |
| 2001 | 1.9% | -1.0% |
| 2002 | 2.0% | +1.6% |
| 2003 | 2.0% | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 2.0% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 1.9% | -3.3% |
| 2006 | 1.9% | -2.1% |
| 2007 | 1.8% | -5.2% |
| 2008 | 1.8% | +1.6% |
| 2009 | 2.1% | +13.5% |
| 2010 | 2.1% | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 2.1% | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 2.0% | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 2.0% | -2.1% |
| 2014 | 2.0% | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 1.9% | -5.2% |
| 2016 | 1.8% | -2.9% |
| 2017 | 1.7% | -9.3% |
| 2018 | 1.5% | -6.9% |
| 2019 | 1.5% | -1.9% |
| 2020 | 1.6% | +5.2% |
| 2021 | 1.5% | -3.3% |
| 2022 | 1.5% | -3.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 1.0% | 8 |
| 1980s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.9% | 1.4% | 2.1% | 8 |
| 2000s | 1.9% | 1.8% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.9% | 1.5% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.5% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Finland
More education data for Finland
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 42,938 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 1,144 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 94,036 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 89,318 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 543,350 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 360,117 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.29 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0641 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Finland?
- Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Finland was 1.5% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Finland?
- The highest recorded value was 2.1% in 1993.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Finland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 1971.
- How does Finland rank for government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp?
- Finland ranks 22nd out of 173 countries with data for 2022.
- Is government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Finland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 27.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Finland 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release