Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Netherlands
Netherlands: Government spending on education overall vs. primary education was 5.2% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Netherlands, 1970–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Netherlands recorded 5.2% for government spending on education overall vs. primary education in 2022.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.7% on the previous year and down 3.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Netherlands peaked at 6.4% in 1975 and was at its lowest, 4.5%, in 1996.
Netherlands ranks 58th of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 50 years of available data.
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 | 4.9% | 4.6% | 5.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.3% | 5.1% | 5.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.3% | 5.2% | 5.4% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
More reference data data for Netherlands
- Number of child deaths per woman 0.0069 under-five deaths per woman (2024)
- Fertility rate: births per woman 1.43 live births per woman (2023)
- Fertility rate: births per woman 1.43 live births per woman (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. Human Development Index 1.43 live births per woman (2023)
- Human Development Index 0.955 (2023)
- Rule of Law - Governance estimate 1.71 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 (2024)
- Rule of Law - Governance score 86.34 0-100 (2024)
- Voice and Accountability - Governance score 85.79 0-100 (2024)
- Voice and Accountability - Governance estimate 1.65 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 (2024)
- Political Stability - Governance score 73.21 0-100 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Netherlands?
- Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Netherlands was 5.2% 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 Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 6.4% in 1975.
- What is the lowest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.5% in 1996.
- How does Netherlands rank for government spending on education overall vs. primary education?
- Netherlands ranks 58th out of 199 countries with data for 2022.
- Is government spending on education overall vs. primary education rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.5%. 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 (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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CSV · JSON — 50 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total annual general government spending on all levels of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP.