Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Denmark
Denmark: Government spending on education overall vs. primary education was 6.4% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Denmark, 1970–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Denmark recorded 6.4% for government spending on education overall vs. primary education in 2022.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 8.7% on the previous year and down 12.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Denmark peaked at 8.6% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 5.6%, in 1979.
Denmark ranks 24th of 199 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 43 years of available data.
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Denmark, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 6.0% | — |
| 1971 | 6.4% | +7.4% |
| 1972 | 6.5% | +1.4% |
| 1973 | 6.3% | -3.3% |
| 1974 | 6.6% | +5.1% |
| 1975 | 6.7% | +2.0% |
| 1977 | 5.7% | -15.5% |
| 1978 | 5.8% | +1.4% |
| 1979 | 5.6% | -3.0% |
| 1980 | 5.9% | +6.3% |
| 1986 | 5.9% | -1.3% |
| 1987 | 6.1% | +3.9% |
| 1988 | 6.3% | +4.0% |
| 1989 | 5.8% | -7.8% |
| 1991 | 5.6% | -4.2% |
| 1993 | 7.8% | +38.9% |
| 1994 | 7.5% | -3.9% |
| 1995 | 7.5% | -0.0% |
| 1996 | 7.9% | +5.5% |
| 1998 | 8.1% | +2.8% |
| 1999 | 7.9% | -2.2% |
| 2000 | 8.1% | +2.0% |
| 2001 | 8.2% | +1.5% |
| 2002 | 8.2% | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 8.1% | -1.2% |
| 2004 | 8.2% | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 8.1% | -1.5% |
| 2006 | 7.7% | -4.3% |
| 2007 | 7.6% | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 7.4% | -2.0% |
| 2009 | 8.4% | +13.0% |
| 2010 | 8.6% | +1.6% |
| 2011 | 8.5% | -0.9% |
| 2012 | 7.2% | -14.5% |
| 2013 | 8.5% | +16.9% |
| 2014 | 7.6% | -9.8% |
| 2016 | 7.7% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 7.4% | -4.5% |
| 2018 | 7.3% | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 7.3% | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 7.4% | +1.5% |
| 2021 | 7.0% | -5.8% |
| 2022 | 6.4% | -8.7% |
Denmark compared with similar countries
- Denmark's 6.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 4.4%, 1.4× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- Denmark's 6.4% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 4.5%, 1.4× the median. (51 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Denmark 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.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | +38.9% | 5.6% | 7.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.2% | 5.6% | 6.7% | 9 |
| 1980s | 6.0% | 5.8% | 6.3% | 5 |
| 1990s | 7.5% | 5.6% | 8.1% | 7 |
| 2000s | 8.0% | 7.4% | 8.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.8% | 7.2% | 8.6% | 9 |
| 2020s | 6.9% | 6.4% | 7.4% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Denmark
More reference data data for Denmark
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.1915 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.4109 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 2.16 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 12.99 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.24 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Denmark?
- Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Denmark was 6.4% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Denmark?
- The highest recorded value was 8.6% in 2010.
- What is the lowest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Denmark?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.6% in 1979.
- How does Denmark rank for government spending on education overall vs. primary education?
- Denmark ranks 24th out of 199 countries with data for 2022.
- Is government spending on education overall vs. primary education rising or falling in Denmark?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Denmark data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Government spending on education overall vs. primary education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Total annual general government spending on all levels of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP.