Share of GDP per capita spent by the government on each primary school student vs. GDP per capita in New Zealand

New Zealand: Share of GDP per capita spent by the government on each primary school student vs. GDP per capita was 20.3% in 2016. ▲ Rising

Latest (2016)
20.3%
Change on year
up 10.8%
World rank
30th
of 122 countries
All-time high
20.3%
in 2016
All-time low
17.4%
in 1997
Years of data
5
1997–2016

Share of GDP per capita spent by the government on each primary school student vs. GDP per capita in New Zealand, 1997–2016

051015201997200620161997: 17.4 % of GDP per capita2013: 19.4 % of GDP per capita2014: 18.2 % of GDP per capita2015: 18.3 % of GDP per capita2016: 20.3 % of GDP per capita

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP per capita.

Analysis

In 2016, share of gdp per capita spent by the government on each primary school student vs. gdp per capita in New Zealand stood at 20.3%. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.

That represents a change of up 10.8% on the previous year and up 4.7% over five years.

Over the whole period, share of gdp per capita spent by the government on each primary school student vs. gdp per capita in New Zealand peaked at 20.3% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 17.4%, in 1997.

That places New Zealand 30th out of 122 countries with data for 2016, putting it in the top quarter.

Share of GDP per capita spent by the government on each primary school student vs. GDP per capita in New Zealand, year by year

Annual values for Share of GDP per capita spent by the government on each primary school student vs. GDP per capita in New Zealand, 1997 to 2016.
Year % of GDP per capita Change
1997 17.4%
2013 19.4% +11.3%
2014 18.2% -6.4%
2015 18.3% +0.9%
2016 20.3% +10.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 17.4% 17.4% 17.4% 1
2010s 19.1% 18.2% 20.3% 4

Countries ranked near New Zealand

  1. 27 Slovakia 20.8% compare
  2. 28 Barbados 20.8% compare
  3. 29 Lesotho 20.7% compare
  4. 31 Estonia 20.3% compare
  5. 32 Brazil 20.1% compare
  6. 33 United States of America 19.9% compare

See the full ranking of 122 places →

More education data for New Zealand

All data for New Zealand →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of gdp per capita spent by the government on each primary school student vs. gdp per capita in New Zealand?
Share of gdp per capita spent by the government on each primary school student vs. gdp per capita in New Zealand was 20.3% in 2016, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of gdp per capita spent by the government on each primary school student vs. gdp per capita recorded in New Zealand?
The highest recorded value was 20.3% in 2016.
What is the lowest share of gdp per capita spent by the government on each primary school student vs. gdp per capita recorded in New Zealand?
The lowest recorded value was 17.4% in 1997.
How does New Zealand rank for share of gdp per capita spent by the government on each primary school student vs. gdp per capita?
New Zealand ranks 30th out of 122 countries with data for 2016.
Where does this New Zealand data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of GDP per capita spent by the government on each primary school student vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of GDP per capita spent by the government on each primary school student vs. GDP per capita in New Zealand. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 03 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/government-expenditure-per-primary-student-vs-gdp-per-capita/new-zealand/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of GDP per capita spent by the government on each primary school student vs. GDP per capita
Unit
% of GDP per capita
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
122 places, 1,482 data points, 1995–2018
Last refreshed

GDP per capita data is adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs between countries.