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Which countries in the world spend the most per public school student? Which countries have increased their spend the most as a percentage in the last 5 years?
Hello! It is my pleasure to respond to your query in providing you with information on the countries across the globe spending the most per-student on public education (which includes primary and secondary levels).
We’ll begin by looking at how cost-per-student is determined by various global organizations, which will help us understand more about my findings in this report. Then, we’ll explore the countries with the highest per-student spending, the countries that spend a higher-than-average amount on education at these levels, and the countries who spend the biggest percentages of the GDPs toward education. We’ll identify the countries with the highest public and/or private education funding, as well as the countries with the biggest increases over a recent five-year-period in per-student spending. To provide contrast, I’ve also included a list of the countries that have the lowest per-student spending. From all this data, I have pulled my “top 10” recommendations, as well as 18 additional countries that may prove worthwhile to target.
It is my hope that this data and analysis are sufficient to help you identify the best possible countries to approach with your proposal for outsourcing education-related research and development work.
EXPERT SOURCES WITH EXPERT CALCULATIONS
According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) consists of 35 countries “whose purpose is to promote trade and economic growth”; these countries represent the most-developed nations in the world. They collect a wide variety of information on their member countries, and calculate estimates of each country’s per-student spending through calculations of two specific measures: (1) Education expenditures per-FTE (full-time equivalent student) paid for by public revenue sources, like governments, or other public funding; and (2) Education expenditures from private revenue sources. Together, these make up the total education expenditures per-country. The OECD also calculates what this spending is in relation to each country’s GDP (gross domestic product), which “allows for a comparison of countries’ expenditures relative to their ability to finance education,” according to the NCES. Please Note: The OECD’s data includes both public and private primary/secondary education, and there is no way to pull the public-only data from this information.
Additional data and statistics come from The World Bank, which ranks all countries across the world on a variety of statistical bases, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics. Each of these organizations represents the most-current and most-valid resources on this kind of statistics.
COUNTRIES WITH HIGHEST PER-STUDENT SPENDING
Via the NCES, the OECD ranks the following as the countries with the highest per-student spending in 2013, which is the most-recent year data is publicly-available from this organization. I have also included the OECD’s estimates for 2015 spending. These are listed in order of the highest per-student spending first, and all figures are provided in USD.
• NUMBER 1: LUXEMBOURG: In 2013, Luxembourg spent the most per-student at $19,479. Estimates for 2015 spending equal $19,819 per-student.
• NUMBER 2: SWITZERLAND: In 2013, Switzerland spent the second-most per-student at $17,679. Estimates for 2015 spending equal $17,987 per-student.
• NUMBER 3: NORWAY: In 2013, Norway spent the third-most per-student at $14,300. Estimates for 2015 spending equal $14,549 per-student.
• NUMBER 4: AUSTRIA: In 2013, Austria spent $13,346 per-student. Estimates for 2015 spending equal $13,578 per-student.
• NUMBER 5: UNITED STATES: According to the NCES and OECD, “In 2013, the United States spent [$11,843] per full-time equivalent (FTE) student on elementary and secondary education, which was 28 percent higher than the OECD average of [$9,233].” Estimates for 2015 spending equal $12,050 per-student. Investopedia notes that, “the US was one of only five countries in the OECD to cut education funding in the two years prior to the OECD study”. US News reports that the 2012-2013 school year was the third year in a row that the US spent less per-student on education, though this could only partially be contributed to a still-recovering economy. If you’re looking to see which states in the US spend the most (and least) on education per-student, this article from Governing will give you some insight into that.
• NUMBER 6: BELGIUM: In 2013, Belgium spent $11,585 per-student. Estimates for 2015 spending equal $11,787 per-student.
• NUMBER 7: UNITED KINGDOM: In 2013, the UK spent $11,545 per-student. Estimates for 2015 spending equal $11,746.
• NUMBER 8: DENMARK: In 2013, Denmark spent $11,127 per-student. Estimates for 2015 spending equal $11,321.
• NUMBER 9: SWEDEN: In 2013, Sweden spent $10,914 per-student. Estimates for 2015 spending equal $11,105.
• NUMBER 10: THE NETHERLANDS: In 2013, The Netherlands spent $10,552 per-student. Estimates for 2015 spending equal $10,736 per-student.
The NES/OECD report from 2013 also shows that, “sixteen countries spent a higher percentage of GDP on total education expenditures than the OECD average of 5.2 percent”. Six countries spent more than 6% the OECD average: The United Kingdom, New Zealand, Denmark, Norway, the United States, and Portugal. When looking specifically at the primary/secondary levels of education only, 16 countries spent less per-student than the OECD average of 3.7% (including the US). Conversely, 17 countries spent 3.7% or more of GDP on primary/secondary education expenditures. This includes nine (9) countries that spent 4% or more than the average. The UK ranks highest in spending on primary/secondary education at 4.8% of GDP.
The World Bank identifies countries with the highest percentage of government spending per-student for primary education (as a percentage of the country’s GDP) as the following (in 2015):
• Moldova (41.7%)
• Bhutan (31.7%)
• Costa Rice (28.4%)
• Jamaica (21%)
• Caribbean Small States (21%)
The World Bank identifies countries with the highest percentage of government spending per-student for secondary education (as a percentage of the country’s GDP) as the following (in 2015):
• Moldova (39.3%)
• Bhutan (31.6%)
• Mauritius (31.2%)
• St. Lucia (27.1%)
• Caribbean Small States (27.1%)
For both of these reports, it should be noted that a great number of countries do not report data into The World Bank (or into any international organization), or did not report information for 2015.
COUNTRIES WITH HIGHEST PUBLIC &/OR PRIVATE SPENDING ON EDUCATION
The OECD notes that the following five (5) countries spent the most in 2013 from public funds on primary/secondary education (as compared to the GDPs):
• Mexico
• New Zealand
• Brazil
• Switzerland
• Chile
Another report from the OECD identifies the countries putting the most private funds toward education in 2013 (as compared to their GDPs), including these five (5) countries:
• United Kingdom
• Portugal
• Norway
• New Zealand
• Iceland
COUNTRIES WITH BIGGEST RECENT INCREASES IN PER-STUDENT SPENDING
According to the NCES, the OECD reports spending data for 2009 and 2013 (the latest five-year data spread available; the latest publicly-available information) – and this data can provide us with the comparison you are looking for – in whose spending has grown the most over that period.
For each of the seven (7) countries below, listed in order to the largest increase first, I have identified the difference between their 2009 and 2013 spending-per-student costs, and provided that for you.
• SWITZERLAND: Increase of $4268 between 2009 and 2013
• UNITED KINGDOM: Increase of $1943 between 2009 and 2013
• BELGIUM: Increase of $1802 between 2009 and 2013
• AUSTRIA: Increase of $1665 between 2009 and 2013
• LUXEMBOURG: Increase of $1461 between 2009 and 2013
• NORWAY: Increase of $1329 between 2009 and 2013
• SWEDEN: Increase of $1205 between 2009 and 2013
If you’d like to review the percentages changes of direct education expenditures as a percentage of GDP for any of the 35 OECD countries, this chart will provide that for you. Please Note: This includes only the years: 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013, so a direct comparison to the 2009 – 2013 figures given above is not possible.
COUNTRIES WITH LOWEST PER-STUDENT SPENDING
As noted, I am providing this list to you so that you have direct contrast about which areas of the globe are strongest to approach with your proposals – and which areas where you would likely meet with very limited opportunity or success (those below) based on economic factors alone. My determination is based on data from the NCES and OECD.
• Mexico
• Turkey
• Chile
• Latvia
• Poland
• Hungary
• Slovak Republic
• Estonia
You will note that several of these (like Mexico and Chile) were among those identified above as spending the most funds on primary/secondary education (public or private). However, since the GDPs of these countries is so low, their total spending is lower than most other countries.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the findings detailed above, I would recommend approaching at least the following 10 countries with your proposal.
1. Luxembourg
2. Switzerland
3. Norway
4. Austria
5. United States
6. Belgium
7. United Kingdom
8. Denmark
9. Sweden
10. The Netherlands
If you want to go further than 10, I would suggest starting with these likely candidates (in the order they are listed) who have evidenced willingness to spend higher amounts on education at these levels (primary/secondary).
11. Portugal
12. Iceland
13. Australia
14. Ireland
15. Germany
16. Finland
17. France
18. Iceland
19. Japan
20. Republic of Korea
21. Israel
22. Moldova
23. Bhutan
24. Costa Rice
25. Jamaica
26. Caribbean Small States
27. Mauritius
28. St. Lucia
Numbers 20 and 21 (Republic of Korea, Israel) on the list are noted by Investopedia as spending a larger-than-average share of their GDP on education expenditures in 2013.
You will want to ensure that you fully research each country’s laws and regulations about outsourced R&D work, various performance statistics on their students (like what they might need the most), as well as how to provide the most country-specific, tailored proposal that is respectful of and geared toward each country’s culture and needs. Wonder would be happy to do this for you; just let us know!
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Thank you again for your question, and I hope this information gives you what you need. Please contact Wonder again for any other questions you may have!