Greece ranks among EU countries with lowest public spending on education
Greece ranks near the bottom of the European Union in terms of public spending on education, alongside Romania and Malta, according to data released by Eurostat.
Public expenditure on education in Greece amounts to 3.3% of GDP, significantly below the EU average of 4.7%, according to the latest figures.
Sweden leads EU in education spending
The highest levels of public education expenditure as a share of GDP were recorded in Sweden, where spending reached 6.8%.
Sweden was followed by:
- Finland: 6.3%
- Belgium: 6.2%
- At the other end of the ranking, Romania recorded the lowest share at 3.0%, followed by Greece at 3.3% and Malta at 3.4%.
The figures highlight significant differences in the priority given to education within public budgets across EU member states.
Western Thrace Turkish community raises concerns
Commenting on the figures, Halit Habip Oğlu, president of the European Western Thrace Turks Federation (ABTTF), said Eurostat’s data were important for showing the differing levels of priority given to education by EU member states.
“Unfortunately, Greece is among the countries that do not prioritize education in the distribution of public resources,” Habip Oğlu said.
He argued that insufficient public funding affects efforts to improve school infrastructure and provide teachers with better working conditions.
Habip Oğlu also linked the issue to the situation of the Western Thrace Turkish community, arguing that the community faces additional challenges related to its education rights.
According to Habip Oğlu, officially guaranteed educational autonomy for the Western Thrace Turkish community has been progressively weakened through government policies.
He claimed that the continued closure of autonomous primary schools in Western Thrace is contributing to what he described as an effort to ultimately eliminate the community’s educational autonomy.
Education spending remains a major EU policy issue
With Greece allocating 3.3% of its GDP to public education compared with an EU average of 4.7%, the figures place the country among the EU’s lowest spenders.
The gap between Greece and countries such as Sweden and Finland also underscores the significant differences in public education investment across the bloc.
