This is one of the conclusions of the study 'Education At a Glance 2023', published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and which reveals that Portugal does not deviate from the OECD average when comparing only the investment made in 2020 by 39 countries, taking into account the percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Portugal spent 5.1% of its GDP on institutions ranging from basic to higher education, “a percentage similar to the average of OECD countries”, says the report.

But Portugal spends 14% less per student than the average for OECD countries. At all levels, from primary to higher education, Portugal spent 10,063 euros per student annually, while the OECD average was 11,766 euros, according to values adjusted by the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) conversion factor.

The amount spent in Portugal, however, represents a greater effort for the country, as expenditure per student is equivalent to 31% of GDP 'per capita', while the OECD average is 27%.

The study also shows how funding was distributed across different levels of education: 30% was channelled to the 1st and 2nd cycles; 22% was distributed to the 3rd cycle; 23% went on to secondary education and the remainder financed post-compulsory education courses (such as degrees, masters or doctorates).

In Portugal, private financing has more weight in compulsory education, representing 12% of expenses compared to 9% of the OECD average, the report also states.

“On average, in OECD countries more than half of public expenditure on primary to post-secondary non-tertiary education comes from subnational governments. In Portugal, 82% of funding comes from the central government, after transfers between levels of government, 7% from the regional level and 11% from the local level”, according to ‘Education at a Glance 2023’.

The OECD study is released every year and presents an overview of the state of Education around the world.