Together, EU governments spent €806 billion on education in 2023, equivalent to 4.7% of the bloc’s GDP.
Public education spending as a share of GDP has declined slightly over the past decade, from 4.96% in 2014 to 4.65% in 2023, according to the latest Eurostat figures.
It briefly reached 5.02% in 2020, largely because the economy contracted during the pandemic rather than because of a comparable increase in education budgets.
Across the European countries covered by Eurostat, Sweden spent the highest share of GDP, at 6.8%. Finland, Iceland, Belgium and Denmark also spent more than 6%. Romania and Greece were near the bottom, at 2.97% and 3.33%, respectively.
Where is spending per student the highest?
