Government Spending on Education in EU Countries

Key Takeaways

• EU governments collectively spent €746 billion on public education in 2022, covering pre-primary through tertiary level.
• Germany recorded the highest government spending on education in the EU in 2022 at 170,029.6 million PPS.
• Germany’s scale is driven by two factors. It is the EU’s most populous country and its largest economy, with a nominal GDP of €4.3 trillion.
• Sweden ranks eighth in absolute spending at 29,682.0 million PPS. However, recorded the highest public education expenditure as a share of GDP in the EU at 6.9%.
• Absolute spending reflects population and economic mass. GDP share reflects political priority.

EU Government Spending on Education

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Germany Leads EU Education Spending

In 2022, EU governments collectively spent €746 billion on public education, from pre-primary through tertiary level. Germany topped that list by a wide margin. Its total reached 170,029.6 million PPS. That is more than France and Italy’s education spending combined.

Two factors explain Germany’s scale. It is the EU’s most populous country, with around 83 million residents in 2022. It also has the largest economy in the EU, with a nominal GDP of €4.3 trillion in 2024.

More students mean more schools, more teachers, and more public money required to run the system. Larger economies also generate larger nominal budgets even when spending the same share of GDP as smaller peers.

The same logic applies in reverse for smaller countries, like the Baltic states. Fewer residents mean fewer students and smaller total budgets, regardless of how seriously a government funds education:

• Luxembourg: 2,198.0 million PPS
• Latvia: 1,945.4 million PPS
• Cyprus: 1,514.8 million PPS

Bigger Education Budgets Do Not Always Mean Greater Commitment to Education

Sweden ranks eighth in the EU by absolute spending at 29,682.0 million PPS. But as a share of its economy, no EU country invested more in education in 2022.

In 2022, Sweden recorded the highest public education expenditure as a share of GDP in the EU at 6.9%. Belgium followed at 6.2%. Romania registered the lowest at 2.9%.

Germany’s education spending as a share of GDP sits at 4.79%. That number is below the EU average of 4.7% and well below Sweden’s figure.

Germany’s education spending as a share of GDP sits at 4.79%. That number is below the EU average of 4.7% and well below Sweden’s figure. This shows that a country can rank high in total spending and low in national commitment, and vice versa.

Across the EU, absolute spending reflects population and economic mass. GDP share reflects political priority. It does not measure education outcomes. It does, however, give a starting point for understanding how seriously each government treats education as a public investment.