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

Sweden: Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education was 15.3% in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
15.3%
Change on year
down 1.8%
World rank
61st
of 194 countries
All-time high
15.7%
in 2019
All-time low
8.0%
in 1992
Years of data
33
1980–2022

Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Sweden, 1980–2022

0510151980200120221980: 9.8 %1981: 10.1 %1990: 8.3 %1991: 8.4 %1992: 8 %1993: 8.1 %1995: 10.2 %1996: 11.3 %1998: 12.7 %1999: 12.4 %2000: 12.9 %2001: 12.8 %2002: 13.1 %2003: 12.8 %2004: 12.9 %2005: 12.7 %2006: 12.7 %2007: 12.8 %2008: 12.9 %2009: 13.1 %2010: 13.2 %2011: 13 %2012: 15.1 %2013: 14.9 %2014: 15 %2015: 15.2 %2016: 15.5 %2017: 15.5 %2018: 15.5 %2019: 15.7 %2020: 15.3 %2021: 15.5 %2022: 15.3 %

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

Analysis

In 2022, share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Sweden stood at 15.3%.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.8% on the previous year and up 1.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Sweden peaked at 15.7% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 8.0%, in 1992.

Sweden ranks 61st of 194 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 10.0% 9.8% 10.1% 2
1990s 9.9% 8.0% 12.7% 8
2000s 12.9% 12.7% 13.1% 10
2010s 14.9% 13.0% 15.7% 10
2020s 15.4% 15.3% 15.5% 3

Countries ranked near Sweden

  1. 58 Ecuador 15.5% compare
  2. 59 Vietnam 15.4% compare
  3. 60 Switzerland 15.4% compare
  4. 62 Philippines 15.2% compare
  5. 63 Congo 14.7% compare
  6. 64 North Korea 14.6% compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More economy & growth data for Sweden

All data for Sweden →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Sweden?
Share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Sweden was 15.3% 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 Sweden?
The highest recorded value was 15.7% in 2019.
What is the lowest share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education recorded in Sweden?
The lowest recorded value was 8.0% in 1992.
How does Sweden rank for share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education?
Sweden ranks 61st 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 Sweden?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sweden 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

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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.