Initial government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Netherlands
Netherlands: Initial government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP was 5.2% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Latest (2022)
5.2%
Change on year
down 5.9%
World rank
41st
of 185 countries
All-time high
6.4%
in 1975
All-time low
4.5%
in 1996
Years of data
50
1970–2022
Initial government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Netherlands, 1970–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Netherlands recorded 5.2% for initial government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in 2022.
The figure is down 5.9% on the previous year and down 4.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, initial government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Netherlands peaked at 6.4% in 1975 and was at its lowest, 4.5%, in 1996.
That places Netherlands 41st out of 185 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 50 years of available data.
Initial government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 6.2% | — |
| 1971 | 6.3% | +1.7% |
| 1972 | 6.3% | -0.2% |
| 1973 | 5.8% | -7.5% |
| 1974 | 6.3% | +8.4% |
| 1975 | 6.4% | +0.6% |
| 1976 | 6.3% | -0.9% |
| 1977 | 6.2% | -2.1% |
| 1978 | 6.2% | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 6.1% | -1.5% |
| 1980 | 5.9% | -3.2% |
| 1981 | 5.7% | -2.4% |
| 1982 | 5.7% | -0.9% |
| 1983 | 5.5% | -3.4% |
| 1984 | 5.1% | -7.5% |
| 1985 | 5.5% | +7.5% |
| 1986 | 5.6% | +1.6% |
| 1987 | 5.9% | +6.0% |
| 1988 | 5.5% | -7.2% |
| 1990 | 5.2% | -4.4% |
| 1991 | 5.2% | -1.3% |
| 1993 | 4.7% | -7.8% |
| 1994 | 4.7% | -2.0% |
| 1995 | 4.6% | -1.8% |
| 1996 | 4.5% | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 4.5% | +1.1% |
| 1999 | 4.5% | -0.8% |
| 2000 | 4.6% | +1.9% |
| 2001 | 4.7% | +2.5% |
| 2002 | 4.8% | +2.3% |
| 2003 | 5.0% | +4.9% |
| 2004 | 5.1% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 5.1% | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 5.0% | -1.3% |
| 2007 | 4.9% | -3.1% |
| 2008 | 5.0% | +2.9% |
| 2009 | 5.4% | +8.0% |
| 2010 | 5.5% | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 5.4% | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 5.4% | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 5.5% | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 5.5% | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 5.3% | -2.1% |
| 2016 | 5.5% | +2.5% |
| 2017 | 5.2% | -5.6% |
| 2018 | 5.4% | +3.5% |
| 2019 | 5.2% | -3.6% |
| 2020 | 5.4% | +5.1% |
| 2021 | 5.5% | +1.5% |
| 2022 | 5.2% | -5.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.2% | 5.8% | 6.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.6% | 5.1% | 5.9% | 9 |
| 1990s | 4.7% | 4.5% | 5.2% | 8 |
| 2000s | 5.0% | 4.6% | 5.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.4% | 5.2% | 5.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.4% | 5.2% | 5.5% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
More education data for Netherlands
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 118,472 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 23,856 (1985)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 247,743 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 240,049 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.61 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.14 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.0937 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.064 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is initial government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Netherlands?
- Initial government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Netherlands was 5.2% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest initial government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 6.4% in 1975.
- What is the lowest initial government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.5% in 1996.
- How does Netherlands rank for initial government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp?
- Netherlands ranks 41st out of 185 countries with data for 2022.
- Is initial government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Netherlands data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Initial government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 50 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release