Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education was 11.8% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in United Kingdom, 1981–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2021, share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in United Kingdom stood at 11.8%.
The figure is down 15.8% on the previous year and down 5.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in United Kingdom peaked at 14.0% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 10.2%, in 1986.
That places United Kingdom 117th out of 194 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 38 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 11.1% | 10.2% | 12.7% | 9 |
| 1990s | 11.5% | 10.8% | 12.1% | 8 |
| 2000s | 12.7% | 11.9% | 13.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.2% | 12.5% | 13.8% | 9 |
| 2020s | 12.9% | 11.8% | 14.0% | 2 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More economy & growth data for United Kingdom
- Exports of goods and services 1.22 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Final consumption expenditure 81.7% (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added 376.76 billion constant LCU (2025)
- Gross national expenditure 4.06 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Gross national expenditure 3.08 trillion current LCU (2025)
- Gross national expenditure 3.41 trillion constant 2015 US$ (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added 0.4% (2025)
- Gross national expenditure 101.4% (2025)
- Gross fixed capital formation 755.83 billion current US$ (2025)
- Exports of goods and services 30.6% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in United Kingdom?
- Share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in United Kingdom was 11.8% in 2021, 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 United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 14.0% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.2% in 1986.
- How does United Kingdom rank for share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education?
- United Kingdom ranks 117th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
- Is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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 — 38 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.