Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Denmark
Denmark: Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education was 14.2% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Denmark, 1986–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2022, share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Denmark stood at 14.2%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 13.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Denmark peaked at 15.8% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 10.6%, in 1991.
Denmark ranks 74th of 194 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Denmark, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 11.5% | — |
| 1987 | 12.4% | +7.7% |
| 1988 | 12.4% | +0.1% |
| 1989 | 11.2% | -9.9% |
| 1991 | 10.6% | -5.2% |
| 1993 | 13.9% | +30.9% |
| 1994 | 13.4% | -2.9% |
| 1995 | 13.1% | -2.5% |
| 1996 | 14.1% | +7.5% |
| 1998 | 14.6% | +3.5% |
| 1999 | 14.5% | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 15.3% | +5.4% |
| 2001 | 15.5% | +1.3% |
| 2002 | 15.5% | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 15.2% | -1.9% |
| 2004 | 15.5% | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 15.8% | +1.8% |
| 2006 | 15.5% | -1.7% |
| 2007 | 15.4% | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 14.8% | -3.7% |
| 2009 | 14.9% | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 15.1% | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 15.1% | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 12.5% | -16.9% |
| 2013 | 15.2% | +21.8% |
| 2014 | 13.9% | -9.0% |
| 2016 | 14.7% | +6.3% |
| 2017 | 14.6% | -1.2% |
| 2018 | 14.4% | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 14.6% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 13.8% | -5.2% |
| 2021 | 14.1% | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 14.2% | +0.6% |
Denmark compared with similar countries
- Denmark's 14.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 11.8%, 1.2× the median. (70 countries reporting)
- Denmark's 14.2% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 11.9%, 1.2× the median. (49 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to 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 | +30.9% | 10.6% | 13.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 11.9% | 11.2% | 12.4% | 4 |
| 1990s | 13.5% | 10.6% | 14.6% | 7 |
| 2000s | 15.3% | 14.8% | 15.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.5% | 12.5% | 15.2% | 9 |
| 2020s | 14.0% | 13.8% | 14.2% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Denmark
More economy & growth data for Denmark
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 0.9574 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 1.4 Percent per annum (2029)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), gaps 30.70 billion BoP, current US$ (2024)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit 0.0723 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per capita 5,136 BoP, current US$ per person (2024)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), gaps filled 18.24 billion BoP, current US$ (2024)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), annual 121.54 % change on previous year (2024)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit 0.043 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per capita 3,052 BoP, current US$ per person (2024)
- Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), annual growth rate 17.85 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Denmark?
- Share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Denmark was 14.2% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education recorded in Denmark?
- The highest recorded value was 15.8% in 2005.
- What is the lowest share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education recorded in Denmark?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.6% in 1991.
- How does Denmark rank for share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education?
- Denmark ranks 74th out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
- Is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education rising or falling in Denmark?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.2%. 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 Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 33 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of total general government spending (across all sectors) that is allocated to education.