Initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of GDP in Italy

Italy: Initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of GDP was 20.6% in 2017. ▼ Falling

Latest (2017)
20.6%
Change on year
up 5.8%
World rank
29th
of 122 countries
All-time high
24.0%
in 2003
All-time low
19.5%
in 2016
Years of data
20
1998–2017

Initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of GDP in Italy, 1998–2017

05101520251998200720171998: 22.11999: 232000: 22.22001: 22.72002: 23.42003: 242004: 23.62005: 21.82006: 23.62007: 21.32008: 232009: 23.92010: 22.72011: 21.42012: 20.32013: 21.32014: 21.12015: 21.72016: 19.52017: 20.6

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Analysis

In 2017, initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of gdp in Italy stood at 20.6%.

The figure is up 5.8% on the previous year and down 3.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of gdp in Italy peaked at 24.0% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 19.5%, in 2016.

Italy ranks 29th of 122 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.

Initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of GDP in Italy, year by year

Annual values for Initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of GDP per capita in Italy, 1998 to 2017.
Year Value Change
1998 22.1%
1999 23.0% +4.1%
2000 22.2% -3.5%
2001 22.7% +2.1%
2002 23.4% +3.1%
2003 24.0% +2.7%
2004 23.6% -1.9%
2005 21.8% -7.6%
2006 23.6% +8.4%
2007 21.3% -9.7%
2008 23.0% +7.9%
2009 23.9% +3.7%
2010 22.7% -4.8%
2011 21.4% -6.0%
2012 20.3% -5.1%
2013 21.3% +5.0%
2014 21.1% -0.7%
2015 21.7% +2.6%
2016 19.5% -10.3%
2017 20.6% +5.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 22.6% 22.1% 23.0% 2
2000s 23.0% 21.3% 24.0% 10
2010s 21.1% 19.5% 22.7% 8

Countries ranked near Italy

  1. 26 Dominica 21.1% compare
  2. 27 Slovakia 20.8% compare
  3. 28 Bulgaria 20.8% compare
  4. 30 Brazil 20.4% compare
  5. 31 Finland 20.2% compare
  6. 32 United States of America 20.2% compare

See the full ranking of 122 places →

More reference data data for Italy

All data for Italy →

Frequently asked questions

What is initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of gdp in Italy?
Initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of gdp in Italy was 20.6% in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of gdp recorded in Italy?
The highest recorded value was 24.0% in 2003.
What is the lowest initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of gdp recorded in Italy?
The lowest recorded value was 19.5% in 2016.
How does Italy rank for initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of gdp?
Italy ranks 29th out of 122 countries with data for 2017.
Is initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Italy?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Italy data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of GDP in Italy. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 03 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/initial-government-funding-per-primary-student-as-a-percentage-of-gdp-per-capita/italy/

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About this data

Indicator
Initial government funding per primary student as a percentage of GDP per capita
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
122 places, 1,518 data points, 1995–2019
Last refreshed

Total general (local, regional and central, current and capital) initial government funding of education per student, which includes transfers paid (such as scholarships to students), but excludes transfers received, in this case international transfers to government for education (when foreign donors provide education sector budget support or other support integrated in the government budget). Calculation Method: Total general (local, regional and central) government expenditure (current and capital) on a given level of education (primary, secondary, etc) minus international transfers to government for education, divided by the number of student enrolled at that level of education. This is then expressed as a share of GDP per capita. 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. There are also cases where it may not be possible to separate international transfers to government from general government expenditure on education, in which cases they have not been subtracted in the formula. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/