How much does Croatia spend on education as a share of GDP?

According to Eurostat data, in 2022 Croatia allocated 3.05 percent of GDP to education.

Which EU country invests the most in education?

Sweden had the highest investment in education at 6.8 percent of GDP.

What is the EU average investment in education?

The EU average investment in education was 4.7 percent of GDP in 2023.

How has Croatia's education spending evolved over time?

Spending increased until 2020 when it reached 3.8 percent of GDP, then fell to 3.05 percent in 2022.

Education

Croatia Near Bottom of EU in Education Spending

B.T. · Prije 1 dana | 2 min

According to Eurostat data for 2022, Croatia allocates only 3.05 percent of GDP to education, significantly below the European Union average of about five percent.

Summary

In 2022, Croatia allocated only 3.05 percent of GDP to education, placing it near the bottom of the EU ranking.
The EU average in 2023 was 4.7 percent of GDP, with Sweden having the highest investment at 6.8 percent.
Croatia's education spending peaked in 2020 at 3.8 percent of GDP and has been declining since.

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According to Eurostat data, in 2023, expenditure on education in the European Union, from kindergarten to university, accounted for 4.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). This is unchanged from the previous year, and the EU's statistical office notes that the level of investment in education changes very slowly over time.

Sweden at the Top, Romania at the Bottom

Among EU member states, Sweden had the highest investment at 6.8 percent of GDP. It was followed by Finland at 6.3 percent and Belgium at 6.2 percent. Romania was at the bottom of the ranking with an investment of only three percent of GDP, with Greece at 3.3 percent and Malta at three percent just above it.

Croatia Among the Worst in the EU

Croatia is near the bottom of the EU ranking in terms of education spending as a share of GDP. Although there is no final data for 2023, in 2022 the rate was 3.05 percent of GDP, placing it at the very bottom of the ranking, on par with Romania. Eurostat's first data for Croatia dates back to 2016, when the spending rate was 3.25 percent of GDP. After that, there was a gradual increase, with the highest value recorded in 2020 when the share reached 3.8 percent. Then this percentage fell to 3.48 percent in 2021 and to the aforementioned 3.05 percent in 2022. Regardless, this level has always been lower than the EU average, which stands at approximately five percent.

Comparison with the Region and Major Economies

Slovenia has consistently outperformed Croatia, with its investment hovering around the European average. In 2023, this share was 4.82 percent of GDP. Looking at major European economies, Italy had 4.06 percent, Spain 4.34 percent, and France 5.26 percent. The Netherlands has been allocating more than five percent of GDP to education for many years, while Germany is roughly at the EU average.

In the EU, spending on education in 2020 was five percent of GDP, which is 0.3 percentage points higher than in 2023. It was precisely 2020 that saw the highest share of education spending in GDP since the systematic tracking of this indicator began in 2012.