Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Finland

Finland: Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education was 12.1% in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
12.1%
Change on year
up 1.4%
World rank
109th
of 194 countries
All-time high
12.9%
in 2012
All-time low
10.9%
in 1984
Years of data
40
1981–2022

Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Finland, 1981–2022

0510151981200120221981: 12.5 %1982: 12.1 %1983: 11.7 %1984: 10.9 %1985: 11.6 %1986: 11.1 %1987: 11.2 %1988: 11.3 %1989: 11.5 %1990: 12.1 %1991: 12.9 %1992: 11.4 %1993: 12.4 %1994: 11.4 %1995: 11.9 %1996: 11.8 %1999: 11.8 %2000: 12.2 %2001: 12.6 %2002: 12.7 %2003: 12.8 %2004: 12.8 %2005: 12.2 %2006: 12.3 %2007: 12.2 %2008: 12.2 %2009: 11.9 %2010: 12 %2011: 12 %2012: 12.9 %2013: 12.5 %2014: 12.4 %2015: 12.7 %2016: 12.5 %2017: 12.1 %2018: 12 %2019: 12.3 %2020: 11.8 %2021: 11.9 %2022: 12.1 %

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 Finland is 12.1%, measured in 2022.

That represents a change of up 1.4% on the previous year and down 5.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Finland peaked at 12.9% in 2012 and was at its lowest, 10.9%, in 1984.

Finland ranks 109th of 194 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 40 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 11.5% 10.9% 12.5% 9
1990s 12.0% 11.4% 12.9% 8
2000s 12.4% 11.9% 12.8% 10
2010s 12.3% 12.0% 12.9% 10
2020s 12.0% 11.8% 12.1% 3

Countries ranked near Finland

  1. 106 Macao 12.3% compare
  2. 107 Georgia 12.2% compare
  3. 108 Andorra 12.1% compare
  4. 110 Belgium 12.0% compare
  5. 111 Singapore 12.0% compare
  6. 112 Bulgaria 12.0% compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More economy & growth data for Finland

All data for Finland →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Finland?
Share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Finland was 12.1% 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 Finland?
The highest recorded value was 12.9% in 2012.
What is the lowest share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education recorded in Finland?
The lowest recorded value was 10.9% in 1984.
How does Finland rank for share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education?
Finland ranks 109th 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 Finland?
Over the last ten years it is down 5.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Finland 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.

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About this data

Indicator
Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
194 places, 4,043 data points, 1980–2025
Last refreshed

Percentage of total general government spending (across all sectors) that is allocated to education.