Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ in Australia

Australia: Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ was 17,100 millions in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
17,100 millions
World rank
11th
of 159 countries
All-time high
17,100 millions
in 2022
All-time low
5,899 millions
in 1982
Years of data
16
1978–2022

Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ in Australia, 1978–2022

5.0k7.5k10.0k12.5k15.0k17.5k1978200020221978: 6.6k millions1979: 6.3k millions1980: 6.1k millions1982: 5.9k millions1983: 8.7k millions1985: 8.9k millions1986: 9.4k millions1987: 9.2k millions1988: 9.7k millions1989: 9.6k millions1990: 10.1k millions1991: 10.5k millions1992: 10.0k millions1993: 9.8k millions1994: 10.6k millions2022: 17.1k millions

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in millions.

Analysis

In 2022, government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$ in Australia stood at 17,100 millions. That is the highest value across all 16 years on record.

Over the whole period, government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$ in Australia peaked at 17,100 millions in 2022 and was at its lowest, 5,899 millions, in 1982.

Australia ranks 11th of 159 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 16 years of available data.

Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ in Australia, year by year

Annual values for Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ (millions) in Australia, 1978 to 2022.
Year millions Change
1978 6,602 millions
1979 6,348 millions -3.9%
1980 6,106 millions -3.8%
1982 5,899 millions -3.4%
1983 8,723 millions +47.9%
1985 8,948 millions +2.6%
1986 9,405 millions +5.1%
1987 9,197 millions -2.2%
1988 9,679 millions +5.2%
1989 9,642 millions -0.4%
1990 10,098 millions +4.7%
1991 10,476 millions +3.7%
1992 9,971 millions -4.8%
1993 9,819 millions -1.5%
1994 10,569 millions +7.6%
2022 17,100 millions +61.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 6,475 millions 6,348 millions 6,602 millions 2
1980s 8,450 millions 5,899 millions 9,679 millions 8
1990s 10,187 millions 9,819 millions 10,569 millions 5
2020s 17,100 millions 17,100 millions 17,100 millions 1

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 8 Brazil 20,800 millions compare
  2. 9 Italy 19,854 millions compare
  3. 10 Netherlands 18,338 millions compare
  4. 12 Spain 16,996 millions compare
  5. 13 Republic of Korea 15,702 millions compare
  6. 14 Japan 14,718 millions compare

See the full ranking of 159 places →

More education data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$ in Australia?
Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$ in Australia was 17,100 millions in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$ recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 17,100 millions in 2022.
What is the lowest government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$ recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 5,899 millions in 1982.
How does Australia rank for government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$?
Australia ranks 11th out of 159 countries with data for 2022.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ (millions). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ in Australia. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 26 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/government-expenditure-on-tertiary-education-constant-us-millions-2/australia/

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About this data

Indicator
Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ (millions)
Unit
millions
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
159 places, 3,551 data points, 1970–2024
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release