Public spending on education is the direct expenditure by public entities on educational institutions as well as educational-related public subsidies given to households and administered by educational institutions.

Public entities include ministries other than ministries of education, local and regional governments, and other public agencies. Expenditure covers spending on schools, universities and other public and private institutions delivering or supporting educational services. It covers education levels from primary, primary to post-secondary non-tertiary and tertiary levels.

This indicator is shown as a percentage of GDP.