Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong, China: Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP was 1.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Hong Kong, China, 1971–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Hong Kong, China recorded 1.1% for government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in 2024.
The figure is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Hong Kong, China peaked at 2.0% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 1982.
That places Hong Kong, China 48th out of 173 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 38 years of available data.
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Hong Kong, China, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 0.6% | — |
| 1972 | 0.6% | +6.7% |
| 1973 | 0.4% | -27.8% |
| 1974 | 0.5% | +0.8% |
| 1975 | 0.6% | +24.4% |
| 1976 | 0.6% | -1.1% |
| 1977 | 0.5% | -3.9% |
| 1978 | 0.6% | +17.7% |
| 1980 | 0.7% | +11.1% |
| 1981 | 0.7% | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.1% | -92.6% |
| 1983 | 0.7% | +1322.0% |
| 1984 | 0.7% | -1.3% |
| 1985 | 0.7% | -5.5% |
| 1990 | 0.8% | +14.8% |
| 1992 | 1.0% | +25.1% |
| 1996 | 1.1% | +11.4% |
| 2004 | 1.4% | +26.7% |
| 2005 | 1.2% | -15.3% |
| 2006 | 1.1% | -2.1% |
| 2007 | 1.1% | -6.0% |
| 2008 | 1.0% | -6.0% |
| 2009 | 2.0% | +97.9% |
| 2010 | 1.0% | -50.8% |
| 2011 | 1.0% | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 1.2% | +16.8% |
| 2013 | 1.5% | +26.3% |
| 2014 | 1.1% | -28.4% |
| 2015 | 1.0% | -7.7% |
| 2016 | 1.0% | +3.4% |
| 2017 | 0.9% | -5.9% |
| 2018 | 1.0% | +3.6% |
| 2019 | 1.3% | +35.8% |
| 2020 | 1.8% | +38.1% |
| 2021 | 1.1% | -42.1% |
| 2022 | 1.0% | -4.5% |
| 2023 | 1.0% | +3.6% |
| 2024 | 1.1% | +0.9% |
Hong Kong, China compared with similar countries
- Hong Kong, China's 1.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.9%, 1.2× the median. (67 countries reporting)
- Hong Kong, China's 1.1% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.7%, 1.6× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Hong Kong, China 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | +1322.0% | 0.1% | 0.7% |
| 2009 | +97.9% | 1.0% | 2.0% |
| 1982 | -92.6% | 0.7% | 0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 8 |
| 1980s | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.7% | 6 |
| 1990s | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 3 |
| 2000s | 1.3% | 1.0% | 2.0% | 6 |
| 2010s | 1.1% | 0.9% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.2% | 1.0% | 1.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Hong Kong, China
More education data for Hong Kong, China
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 31,678 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 1,605 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 72,557 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 65,737 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 340,877 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 329,780 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.3 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0438 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Hong Kong, China?
- Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Hong Kong, China was 1.1% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Hong Kong, China?
- The highest recorded value was 2.0% in 2009.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Hong Kong, China?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 1982.
- How does Hong Kong, China rank for government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp?
- Hong Kong, China ranks 48th out of 173 countries with data for 2024.
- Is government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Hong Kong, China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Hong Kong, 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 38 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release