Education share of government expenditure (COFOG) i
30 countries with data for 2024 · Frequency: Annual · Unit: % · Basic
Source: Eurostat (gov_10a_exp), retrieved 2026-10-19 · View on Eurostat · See technical sheet
EU279.7%
Euro area9.4%
Spain9.1% 26 of 30
Simple average11.3%
Highest · 
Switzerland16.3%
Switzerland16.3%Lowest · 
Italy8.0%
Italy8.0%Trend
Add or remove countries from the legend. Eurostat data, not seasonally adjusted unless stated.
Country ranking
| # | Country | Value | Year-on-year change | EU27 rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| · |  European Union (27) | 9.7% | +0.1 pp | — |
| · | Euro area (21) | 9.4% | +0.1 pp | — |
| · | Euro area (20, until 2025) | 9.4% | +0.1 pp | — |
| 1 | Switzerland | 16.3% | 0.0 pp | — |
| 2 |  Iceland | 14.9% | +0.1 pp | — |
| 3 |  Sweden | 14.4% | -0.2 pp | 1/27 |
| 4 |  Estonia | 14.2% | -0.4 pp | 2/27 |
| 5 |  Lithuania | 13.9% | +0.1 pp | 3/27 |
| 6 |  Latvia | 13.4% | -0.6 pp | 4/27 |
| 7 |  Cyprus | 13.2% | +1.0 pp | 5/27 |
| 8 |  Malta | 12.6% | +1.1 pp | 6/27 |
| 9 |  Ireland | 12.0% | 0.0 pp | 7/27 |
| 10 |  Slovenia | 11.8% | +0.1 pp | 8/27 |
| 11 |  Denmark | 11.7% | 0.0 pp | 9/27 |
| 11 |  Belgium | 11.7% | -0.2 pp | 9/27 |
| 13 |  Netherlands | 11.5% | 0.0 pp | 11/27 |
| 14 |  Poland | 11.3% | +0.7 pp | 12/27 |
| 15 |  Bulgaria | 10.9% | +0.3 pp | 13/27 |
| 16 |  Slovakia | 10.8% | +0.5 pp | 14/27 |
| 16 |  Finland | 10.8% | -0.1 pp | 14/27 |
| 18 |  Czechia | 10.6% | +0.3 pp | 16/27 |
| 18 |  Luxembourg | 10.6% | — | 16/27 |
| 20 |  Croatia | 10.5% | -0.9 pp | 18/27 |
| 21 |  Hungary | 10.4% | +1.1 pp | 19/27 |
| 22 |  Portugal | 10.3% | +0.1 pp | 20/27 |
| 23 |  Norway | 9.8% | 0.0 pp | — |
| 24 |  Austria | 9.6% | +0.3 pp | 21/27 |
| 25 |  Romania | 9.3% | +0.9 pp | 22/27 |
| 26 |  Spain | 9.1% | -0.1 pp | 23/27 |
| 26 |  Germany | 9.1% | -0.2 pp | 23/27 |
| 28 |  France | 8.9% | +0.1 pp | 25/27 |
| 29 |  Greece | 8.2% | +0.1 pp | 26/27 |
| 30 | Italy | 8.0% | +0.7 pp | 27/27 |
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About this indicator
- Which European country has the highest education share of government expenditure (COFOG)?
- Switzerland, with 16.3% in 2024. The EU27 figure is 9.7%.
- Where does Spain rank?
- Spain: 9.1% in 2024, rank 26 of 30 countries.
- What does education share of government expenditure (COFOG) measure?
- Education share of government expenditure (COFOG), in %. Descriptive indicator: a higher or lower value is not better in itself; the ranking orders from highest to lowest.
- Where does the education share of government expenditure (COFOG) data come from?
- Eurostat, dataset gov_10a_exp («General government expenditure by function (COFOG)»). RAC-EU downloads it from Eurostat's official API and checks it every day.
- How often is education share of government expenditure (COFOG) updated?
- Annual. The latest period published is 2024; RAC-EU adds new data and revisions on the day Eurostat publishes them.
The full series since 1990, the chart and the analysis are in the Basic plan. See plans · Full methodology sheet →