How much is spent per student on educational institutions?

Annual expenditure per student on educational institutions from primary to tertiary level provides an assessment of the investment made in each student. In 2018, the average annual spending per student from primary to tertiary education in OECD countries as a whole was almost USD 11 700. But this average masks a broad range of spending across OECD and partner countries. Annual spending per student at these levels ranged from around USD 3 100 in Colombia to around USD 18 000 in Norway and the United States, and to more than USD 24 900 in Luxembourg (). The drivers of expenditure per student vary across countries and by level of education: the countries with the highest expenditure per student enrolled in primary through tertiary education (e.g. Luxembourg and the United States) are also among those that tend to pay their teachers at primary and secondary level the most (see Indicator D3). In contrast, Colombia has one of the highest ratios of students to teaching staff, which tends to drive costs down (see Indicator D2).