Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ was 39,056 millions in 2017. ▲ Rising

Latest (2017)
39,056 millions
Change on year
up 6.3%
World rank
4th
of 153 countries
All-time high
39,056 millions
in 2017
All-time low
11,525 millions
in 1971
Years of data
42
1971–2017

Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1971–2017

10.0k20.0k30.0k40.0k1971199420171971: 11.5k millions1972: 12.9k millions1973: 13.9k millions1974: 13.9k millions1975: 14.8k millions1976: 14.2k millions1977: 14.3k millions1980: 13.8k millions1981: 14.5k millions1982: 14.0k millions1983: 13.8k millions1984: 13.5k millions1985: 13.3k millions1986: 12.3k millions1987: 12.5k millions1988: 12.5k millions1989: 12.7k millions1990: 13.1k millions1991: 13.5k millions1992: 14.8k millions1994: 18.0k millions1995: 19.2k millions1996: 17.9k millions1998: 16.9k millions1999: 15.3k millions2000: 13.9k millions2001: 14.4k millions2002: 20.0k millions2003: 20.3k millions2004: 20.2k millions2005: 24.9k millions2006: 23.4k millions2007: 20.5k millions2008: 18.9k millions2009: 17.9k millions2010: 21.9k millions2011: 29.6k millions2013: 32.6k millions2014: 34.3k millions2015: 32.7k millions2016: 36.7k millions2017: 39.1k millions

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in millions.

Analysis

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland recorded 39,056 millions for government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$ in 2017. That is the highest value across all 42 years on record.

The figure is up 6.3% on the previous year and up 90.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$ in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland peaked at 39,056 millions in 2017 and was at its lowest, 11,525 millions, in 1971.

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 4th of 153 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 42 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 13,633 millions 11,525 millions 14,750 millions 7
1980s 13,298 millions 12,346 millions 14,486 millions 10
1990s 16,090 millions 13,064 millions 19,178 millions 8
2000s 19,434 millions 13,876 millions 24,901 millions 10
2010s 32,427 millions 21,935 millions 39,056 millions 7

Countries ranked near United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

  1. 1 Ecuador 1.25 billion millions compare
  2. 2 United States of America 272,161 millions compare
  3. 3 Germany 45,884 millions compare
  4. 5 France 31,828 millions compare
  5. 6 Brazil 31,366 millions compare
  6. 7 Japan 31,329 millions compare

See the full ranking of 153 places →

More reference data data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

All data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$ in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$ in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was 39,056 millions in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$ recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 39,056 millions in 2017.
What is the lowest government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$ recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 11,525 millions in 1971.
How does United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland rank for government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$?
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 4th out of 153 countries with data for 2017.
Is government expenditure on tertiary education, constant us$ rising or falling in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is up 90.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 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.

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Government expenditure on tertiary education, constant US$ in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 19 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/government-expenditure-on-tertiary-education-constant-us-millions/united-kingdom/

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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/