Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP was 1.6% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Latest (2021)
1.6%
Change on year
up 6.8%
World rank
13th
of 173 countries
All-time high
1.6%
in 2021
All-time low
0.7%
in 2000
Years of data
46
1971–2021
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1971–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland recorded 1.6% for government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in 2021. That is the highest value across all 46 years on record.
That represents a change of up 6.8% on the previous year and up 30.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland peaked at 1.6% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 2000.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 13th of 173 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 46 years of available data.
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 1.2% | — |
| 1972 | 1.3% | +8.2% |
| 1973 | 1.3% | +3.1% |
| 1974 | 1.3% | -6.1% |
| 1975 | 1.4% | +9.0% |
| 1976 | 1.3% | -2.3% |
| 1977 | 1.3% | -2.1% |
| 1980 | 1.1% | -12.9% |
| 1981 | 1.2% | +7.1% |
| 1982 | 1.2% | -2.8% |
| 1983 | 1.1% | -2.9% |
| 1984 | 1.1% | -6.5% |
| 1985 | 1.0% | -3.4% |
| 1986 | 0.9% | -11.0% |
| 1987 | 0.9% | -1.6% |
| 1988 | 0.9% | -5.3% |
| 1989 | 0.8% | -3.8% |
| 1990 | 0.8% | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 0.9% | +2.8% |
| 1992 | 0.9% | +10.8% |
| 1994 | 1.1% | +18.2% |
| 1995 | 1.1% | +2.4% |
| 1996 | 1.0% | -9.1% |
| 1998 | 0.9% | -11.2% |
| 1999 | 0.8% | -13.1% |
| 2000 | 0.7% | -12.1% |
| 2001 | 0.7% | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 1.0% | +34.7% |
| 2003 | 0.9% | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 0.9% | -3.7% |
| 2005 | 1.1% | +20.3% |
| 2006 | 1.0% | -9.0% |
| 2007 | 0.9% | -14.4% |
| 2008 | 0.8% | -9.9% |
| 2009 | 0.7% | -5.7% |
| 2010 | 0.9% | +28.4% |
| 2011 | 1.2% | +31.8% |
| 2013 | 1.3% | +7.5% |
| 2014 | 1.4% | +2.9% |
| 2015 | 1.3% | -7.0% |
| 2016 | 1.4% | +9.7% |
| 2017 | 1.5% | +4.5% |
| 2018 | 1.4% | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 1.4% | -0.0% |
| 2020 | 1.5% | +4.6% |
| 2021 | 1.6% | +6.8% |
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland's 1.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.9%, 1.8× the median. (67 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland's 1.6% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.9%, 1.9× the median. (50 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.4% | 7 |
| 1980s | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 8 |
| 2000s | 0.9% | 0.7% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.3% | 0.9% | 1.5% | 9 |
| 2020s | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 2 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- 10 United States of America 1.7% compare
- 11 Namibia 1.6% compare
- 12 Senegal 1.6% compare
- 14 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 1.6% compare
- 15 Netherlands 1.6% compare
- 16 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 1.6% compare
More education data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 388,714 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2012)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 830,495 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 790,556 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.40 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.86 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.0111 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.071 units per person (2023)
All data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland →
Frequently asked questions
- What is government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was 1.6% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 1.6% in 2021.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 2000.
- How does United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland rank for government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp?
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 13th out of 173 countries with data for 2021.
- Is government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 30.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 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 — 46 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release