Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Canada
Canada: Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education was 10.7% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Canada, 1981–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Canada is 10.7%, measured in 2022.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 17.5% on the previous year and down 12.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Canada peaked at 15.6% in 1981 and was at its lowest, 9.1%, in 2021.
That places Canada 140th out of 194 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 14.1% | 12.7% | 15.6% | 9 |
| 1990s | 13.3% | 12.6% | 14.6% | 8 |
| 2000s | 12.3% | 12.0% | 13.0% | 7 |
| 2010s | 12.0% | 11.2% | 12.4% | 9 |
| 2020s | 10.6% | 9.1% | 12.0% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More economy & growth data for Canada
- Exports of goods and services 1.02 trillion current LCU (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added 27.4% (2022)
- Gross national expenditure 2.34 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Gross national expenditure 3.27 trillion current LCU (2025)
- Gross national expenditure 1.95 trillion constant 2015 US$ (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added 558.59 billion constant LCU (2025)
- Gross national expenditure 100.8% (2025)
- Exports of goods and services 726.88 billion current US$ (2025)
- Gross fixed capital formation 742.83 billion current LCU (2025)
- Gross fixed capital formation 531.31 billion current US$ (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Canada?
- Share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Canada was 10.7% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 15.6% in 1981.
- What is the lowest share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.1% in 2021.
- How does Canada rank for share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education?
- Canada ranks 140th out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
- Is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Canada data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of total general government spending (across all sectors) that is allocated to education.