At the postsecondary level in 2004, U.S. expenditures per student were $22,476, which was higher than the OECD average of $11,418.

Two measures used to compare countries’ investments in education are expenditures per student from both public and private sources and total education expenditures as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). The latter measure allows a comparison of countries’ expenditures relative to their ability to finance education. Private sources include payments from households for school-based expenses such as tuition, transportation fees, book rentals, or food services, as well as funds raised by institutions.

In 2004, expenditures per student for the United States were $9,368 at the combined elementary and secondary level, which was 42 percent higher than the average of $6,604 for the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reporting data (see table 38-1). At the postsecondary level, U.S. expenditures per student were $22,476, which was nearly twice as high as the OECD average of $11,418. Expenditures per student varied widely across the OECD countries, ranging from $1,262 in Turkey to $15,157 in Luxembourg at the combined elementary and secondary level, and from $4,412 in Poland to $21,966 in Switzerland and $22,476 in the United States at the postsecondary level.

A country’s wealth (defined as GDP per capita) was positively associated with expenditures per student on education. Among the OECD countries reporting data in 2004, the countries that spent the highest percentage of their GDP on total education expenditures¹ were Iceland (8.0 percent), the United States (7.4 percent), Korea (7.2 percent), and Denmark (7.2 percent). Looking at education expenditures by level, the United States spent 4.1 percent of its GDP on elementary and secondary education, higher than the average of 3.8 percent for all OECD countries reporting data. Compared with the United States, 12 countries spent a higher percentage of their GDP on elementary and secondary education, and 16 countries spent a lower proportion on education. Iceland (5.4 percent) spent the highest percentage of GDP. At the postsecondary level, 2.9 percent of the GDP of the United States was spent on education, higher than the average of 1.4 percent for all OECD countries reporting data. The United States also spent a greater percentage of its GDP on postsecondary education than any other OECD countries reporting data.

¹ Total education expenditures include expenditures at the elementary/secondary, postsecondary, and postsecondary nontertiary levels. (back to text)