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Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Greece

Greece: Government spending on education overall vs. primary education was 3.4% in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
3.4%
Change on year
down 4.9%
World rank
131st
of 199 countries
All-time high
4.1%
in 2005
All-time low
1.1%
in 1973
Years of data
31
1970–2022

Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Greece, 1970–2022

12341970199620221970: 1.6 % of GDP1971: 1.3 % of GDP1973: 1.1 % of GDP1974: 1.4 % of GDP1975: 1.5 % of GDP1976: 1.5 % of GDP1977: 1.5 % of GDP1978: 1.7 % of GDP1981: 1.7 % of GDP1982: 1.7 % of GDP1983: 1.7 % of GDP1984: 1.8 % of GDP1986: 1.9 % of GDP1987: 1.9 % of GDP1988: 1.9 % of GDP1989: 2 % of GDP1990: 2.1 % of GDP1991: 2 % of GDP1998: 3 % of GDP1999: 3.1 % of GDP2000: 3.4 % of GDP2001: 3.5 % of GDP2002: 3.5 % of GDP2003: 3.5 % of GDP2004: 3.8 % of GDP2005: 4.1 % of GDP2015: 3.7 % of GDP2017: 3.5 % of GDP2018: 3.6 % of GDP2019: 3.6 % of GDP2022: 3.4 % of GDP

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.

Analysis

Greece recorded 3.4% for government spending on education overall vs. primary education in 2022.

That represents a change of down 4.9% on the previous year and down 8.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Greece peaked at 4.1% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 1.1%, in 1973.

Greece ranks 131st of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 1.4% 1.1% 1.7% 8
1980s 1.8% 1.7% 2.0% 8
1990s 2.5% 2.0% 3.1% 4
2000s 3.6% 3.4% 4.1% 6
2010s 3.6% 3.5% 3.7% 4
2020s 3.4% 3.4% 3.4% 1

Countries ranked near Greece

  1. 128 Saint Kitts and Nevis 3.5% compare
  2. 129 Palau 3.4% compare
  3. 130 Serbia 3.4% compare
  4. 132 Congo 3.3% compare
  5. 133 Japan 3.3% compare
  6. 134 El Salvador 3.3% compare

See the full ranking of 199 places →

More reference data data for Greece

All data for Greece →

Frequently asked questions

What is government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Greece?
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Greece was 3.4% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Greece?
The highest recorded value was 4.1% in 2005.
What is the lowest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Greece?
The lowest recorded value was 1.1% in 1973.
How does Greece rank for government spending on education overall vs. primary education?
Greece ranks 131st out of 199 countries with data for 2022.
Is government spending on education overall vs. primary education rising or falling in Greece?
Over the last ten years it is down 8.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Greece data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Government spending on education overall vs. primary education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education
Unit
% of GDP
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
199 places, 5,140 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

Total annual general government spending on all levels of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP.