Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ in Canada

Canada: Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ was 25,279 millions in 2017. ▲ Rising

Latest (2017)
25,279 millions
Change on year
up 3.5%
World rank
8th
of 153 countries
All-time high
25,545 millions
in 2011
All-time low
9,871 millions
in 1973
Years of data
36
1971–2017

Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ in Canada, 1971–2017

010.0k20.0k30.0k1971199420171971: 9.9k millions1972: 10.2k millions1973: 9.9k millions1974: 9.9k millions1975: 10.1k millions1976: 10.7k millions1977: 10.6k millions1978: 11.4k millions1979: 11.8k millions1980: 11.5k millions1981: 11.7k millions1982: 12.0k millions1983: 12.6k millions1984: 12.8k millions1985: 12.5k millions1986: 13.0k millions1987: 13.8k millions1988: 14.0k millions1989: 14.8k millions1990: 15.0k millions1991: 15.2k millions1992: 16.0k millions1993: 16.6k millions1994: 18.4k millions1995: 18.6k millions1998: 15.5k millions2007: 22.2k millions2008: 21.5k millions2009: 23.8k millions2010: 25.1k millions2011: 25.5k millions2013: 18.9k millions2014: 24.3k millions2015: 24.4k millions2016: 24.4k millions2017: 25.3k millions

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in millions.

Analysis

In 2017, government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$ in Canada stood at 25,279 millions.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.5% on the previous year and up 14.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$ in Canada peaked at 25,545 millions in 2011 and was at its lowest, 9,871 millions, in 1973.

That places Canada 8th out of 153 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.

Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ in Canada, year by year

Annual values for Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ (millions) in Canada, 1971 to 2017.
Year millions Change
1971 9,932 millions —
1972 10,200 millions +2.7%
1973 9,871 millions -3.2%
1974 9,891 millions +0.2%
1975 10,068 millions +1.8%
1976 10,658 millions +5.9%
1977 10,649 millions -0.1%
1978 11,400 millions +7.0%
1979 11,761 millions +3.2%
1980 11,477 millions -2.4%
1981 11,669 millions +1.7%
1982 12,026 millions +3.1%
1983 12,575 millions +4.6%
1984 12,818 millions +1.9%
1985 12,526 millions -2.3%
1986 12,973 millions +3.6%
1987 13,807 millions +6.4%
1988 14,010 millions +1.5%
1989 14,844 millions +6.0%
1990 14,978 millions +0.9%
1991 15,242 millions +1.8%
1992 16,044 millions +5.3%
1993 16,642 millions +3.7%
1994 18,436 millions +10.8%
1995 18,605 millions +0.9%
1998 15,510 millions -16.6%
2007 22,163 millions +42.9%
2008 21,503 millions -3.0%
2009 23,795 millions +10.7%
2010 25,079 millions +5.4%
2011 25,545 millions +1.9%
2013 18,927 millions -25.9%
2014 24,254 millions +28.1%
2015 24,447 millions +0.8%
2016 24,427 millions -0.1%
2017 25,279 millions +3.5%

Canada compared with similar countries

  • Canada's 25,279 millions is above the median for high income countries, which is 1,521 millions, 16.6× the median. (59 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ in Canada changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2007 +42.9% 15,510 millions 22,163 millions
2013 -25.9% 25,545 millions 18,927 millions
2014 +28.1% 18,927 millions 24,254 millions

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 10,492 millions 9,871 millions 11,761 millions 9
1980s 12,873 millions 11,477 millions 14,844 millions 10
1990s 16,494 millions 14,978 millions 18,605 millions 7
2000s 22,487 millions 21,503 millions 23,795 millions 3
2010s 23,994 millions 18,927 millions 25,545 millions 7

Countries ranked near Canada

  1. 5 France 31,828 millions compare
  2. 6 Brazil 31,366 millions compare
  3. 7 Japan 31,329 millions compare
  4. 9 India 18,839 millions compare
  5. 10 Australia 17,118 millions compare
  6. 11 Italy 14,745 millions compare

See the full ranking of 153 places →

More reference data data for Canada

All data for Canada →

Frequently asked questions

What is government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$ in Canada?
Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$ in Canada was 25,279 millions in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$ recorded in Canada?
The highest recorded value was 25,545 millions in 2011.
What is the lowest government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$ recorded in Canada?
The lowest recorded value was 9,871 millions in 1973.
How does Canada rank for government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$?
Canada ranks 8th out of 153 countries with data for 2017.
Is government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$ rising or falling in Canada?
Over the last ten years it is up 14.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Canada data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ (millions). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ in Canada. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 29 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/government-expenditure-on-tertiary-education-constant-us-millions/canada/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/government-expenditure-on-tertiary-education-constant-us-millions/canada/">Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ in Canada</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ (millions)
Unit
millions
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
153 places, 3,093 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Total general (local, regional and central) government expenditure on tertiary education (current, capital, and transfers) in millions US$ in constant value (taking into account inflation). It includes expenditure funded by transfers from international sources to government. Total government expenditure for a given level of education (e.g. primary, secondary, or all levels combined) in national currency is converted to US$, and where it is expressed in constant value, uses a GDP deflator to account for inflation. The constant prices base year is normally three years before the year of the data release. For example, in the July 2017 data release, constant US$ values are expressed in 2014 prices. Limitations: In some instances data on total government expenditure on education refers only to the Ministry of Education, excluding other ministries which may also spend a part of their budget on educational activities. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/