How much is spent per student on educational institutions?

Annual expenditure per student on primary to tertiary educational institutions provides an assessment of the investment made in each student. In 2019, the average annual spending per student from primary to tertiary education in OECD countries as a whole was around USD 12 000. But this average masks a broad range of spending across OECD countries. Annual spending per student at these levels ranged from around USD 3 600 in Mexico to around USD 17 500 in Austria and Norway, around USD 19 500 in the United States and over USD 25 400 in Luxembourg (). The drivers of expenditure per student vary across countries and by level of education: in Luxembourg, for example high teachers’ salaries at primary and secondary levels (see Indicator D3) are reflected in high levels of expenditure per student. In contrast, Colombia has one of the highest ratios of students to teaching staff (see Indicator D8 and Education at a Glance Database), which tends to drive costs down (OECD, 2021[1]).