Tuition fees for bachelor's degrees vary considerably from country to country. In one-third of the countries and other participants with data, public institutions either offer tuition-free education to national students or charge less than USD 1 100 per year in fees. In another third of countries, annual tuition fees are relatively modest, averaging between USD 1 400 and USD 3 100 per student. In the remaining countries, fees are considerably higher, exceeding USD 4 500 per year.
Tuition fees per year are higher for a master's degree than for a bachelor's degree in only half of the countries and other participants with data.
OECD countries and other participants fall into three different groups when it comes to tuition fees and direct financial support to tertiary students: no tuition fees and high financial support to students, high tuition fees and high financial support, and low or moderate tuition fees and targeted financial support for a smaller share of students.
Education at a Glance 2024
The political landscape surrounding tuition fees in tertiary education is often the subject of intense debate and scrutiny. At the heart of this discourse are questions of accessibility, affordability and the societal value of education in a context of rapid expansion of tertiary education. On the one hand, proponents of tuition fees argue that they are necessary to maintain the quality of education and the financial viability of institutions. They argue that students benefit from the investments made in facilities, faculty staff and educational resources, and that tuition fees are a fair way of distributing costs among those who benefit directly. However, opponents counter that high tuition fees create barriers to entry for low-income students, exacerbating social inequalities and limiting upward mobility. They argue for greater public support to ease the financial burden on students, through measures such as scholarships and grants and public loans. The debate encompasses broader discussions on the balance between public and private funding, and the economic implications of student debt. OECD and partner countries tend to have very different approaches to student financial aid and to sharing the costs of tertiary education between governments, students and their families, and other private entities. Finding a solution that reconciles these divergent interests remains a major challenge for policy makers worldwide.
Annual fees charged by public institutions for master’s programmes in education; arts and humanities; and engineering, manufacturing and construction are among the lowest of all fields of study in most countries.
Independent private institutions are less affected by government regulation and have often more freedom to set tuition fees. As a result, they charge higher annual tuition fees than public institutions for master’s programmes in all OECD countries except Lithuania.
Tuition fees are higher for foreign students than for national students in more than two-thirds of the countries and other participants with data available.
Countries with high tuition fees tend to also be those where private entities other than households make a larger contribution to funding tertiary institutions. They also tend to have student financial support systems that offer income-contingent loans to all students, or/and means-tested grants. In contrast, students in countries with more progressive tax regimes often pay no tuition fees and have access to generous public subsidies for tertiary education but face high income tax rates on their earnings later in life.
More and more students are entering tertiary education each year, with bachelor's or equivalent programmes now the most common tertiary degree pursued by students.
Tuition fees for bachelor's degrees vary considerably from country to country. In one-third of the countries and other participants for which data are available, public institutions either offer tuition-free education to national students, as in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, or charge fees of less than USD 1 100 per year, as in Austria, France, the French Community of Belgium and Germany. In another third of countries, annual tuition fees are relatively modest, averaging between USD 1 400 and USD 3 100 per student. In the remaining countries and other participants, fees are considerably higher, ranging from around USD 4 500 to USD 6 000 per year in Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, Lithuania and New Zealand, to over USD 9 500 in England (United Kingdom) and the United States ( Table C5.1. and Figure C5.1.).
Continuing education after upper secondary or post secondary non-tertiary graduation has become the norm for students in most OECD countries. As well as bachelor’s programmes, short-cycle tertiary programmes are also expanding in many OECD countries, as they provide a shorter and cheaper tertiary education and, in a number of countries, a better benefit-to-cost ratio than long-cycle tertiary programmes such as bachelor’s and master’s programmes (OECD, 2019[1]). Tuition fees for short-cycle tertiary programmes in public institutions are generally lower than for bachelor’s programmes. They are generally free of charge in Denmark, France, Spain and Sweden, while in the United States fees average less than USD 3 600 per year, less than half those for bachelor’s programmes. In contrast, tuition fees for short-cycle tertiary programmes in public institutions are the same as for bachelor’s programmes in the Lithuania and Netherlands. In Norway, short‑cycle tertiary is the only tertiary level where fees are charged (Table C5.1.).
Continuing tertiary education after a bachelor’s degree leads to better labour-market outcomes in most countries. Graduates with a master’s, doctoral or equivalent degree have better employment opportunities and earnings prospects in most countries (see Chapters A3 and A4). Tuition fees for a master's degree are higher than for a bachelor's degree in half of the 22 countries and other participants with data for both programmes. Tuition fees for master’s programmes in public institutions are 25-50% higher than for bachelor’s programmes in France, Israel, Korea, New Zealand, Spain and the United States (data for the United States refer to master’s and doctoral programmes combined), while in Australia, the French Community of Belgium, Canada and Lithuania, they are over 70% higher (Table C5.1.).
These higher tuition fees in some countries may limit the participation of disadvantaged students in programmes at this level if they are not combined with sufficient student financial aid, but they also reflect the additional opportunities that a master's degree offers on the job market. In the remaining countries, despite the earnings advantage they offer, tuition fees in public institutions for full‑time national students are similar to those for bachelor’s programmes. In the four countries with data available where tuition is free of charge at bachelor’s level, there are also no fees at master’s level (Table C5.1.).
It is a different story for doctoral programmes. There are only four countries where public institutions charge higher fees for doctoral programmes than for master’s: France, Korea, Lithuania and Romania. Of these, Lithuania is the only country where annual fees for a doctoral programme are more than three times those of a bachelor’s programme. Lower overall fees at the doctoral level can be explained by government subsidies for doctoral candidates, in line with policy objectives to boost research in tertiary education institutions in some countries. Thus, in a few OECD countries and other participants (e.g. Australia, Italy and Switzerland), public institutions charge lower fees for doctoral programmes than for bachelor’s and master’s programmes to promote enrolment in doctoral programmes and attract talent for research and innovation. In Australia, for example, the average annual tuition fees in public institutions for doctoral programmes are about 25 times lower than for bachelor’s programmes (about USD 200 compared to USD 5 000). Other countries, such as Norway, recognise doctoral candidates as employees rather than students (Table C5.1.).
Private institutions often offer specialised programmes that are not necessarily available at public institutions. These programmes can range from niche academic disciplines to vocational training tailored to specific industries or professions. On average, about one-fifth of students are enrolled in independent private institutions, but this figure hides large differences between countries. In half of OECD countries and other participants with available data, less than 15% of all tertiary students are enrolled in independent private institutions. In contrast, the majority of students in Japan and Korea are enrolled in independent private institutions while the great majority of students are enrolled in government-dependent private institutions in England (United Kingdom) (Table C5.1.).
In contrast, public institutions typically offer lower tuition fees, promoting broader access to education, but may face challenges in resource allocation and maintaining quality due to budget constraints. Public institutions are also more affected by government regulation and more reliant on public funds than independent private institutions, and often have less freedom to set higher tuition fees. As a result, public institutions charge lower annual tuition fees than independent private institutions for bachelor’s and master’s programmes in all OECD countries and other participants with available data, except Lithuania. Tuition fees for master’s or equivalent programmes in independent private institutions are over five times higher than in public ones in Spain; fees are over twice as much in Israel, Italy and the United States; but less than twice as much in Australia, Japan, Korea and Romania (Table C5.1.).
Tuition fee policies generally cover all students studying in a country’s educational institutions, including foreign students. Educational attainment has risen considerably over the last two decades, with more and more students entering tertiary education each year. This has led institutions in some countries to seek additional resources to guarantee the same quality of teaching. In this context, charging higher fees to foreign students can help offset programme costs, strike a balance between public and private sources of tertiary funding, and generate additional resources for institutions and governments.
In 10 of the 14 countries and other participants with available data, tuition fees are higher for foreign students than for national ones, contributing significantly to the funding of tertiary educational institutions. The difference between national and foreign students can be substantial in some countries. For instance, in Australia, Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Romania and the United States, public institutions charge foreign master’s students on average over USD 6 000 more per year than national students (or in-state students in the United States) (Table C5.1.).
However, in Finland and Romania, as well as in the other countries within the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA), foreign students from other EU and EEA countries are charged the same tuition fees as national students. In the United States, tuition fees for foreign students in public institutions are typically equivalent to those paid by out-of-state national students. In Finland, students from outside the EU/EEA are charged about USD 14 000 per year for master’s programmes in public institutions. In France the fees charged for master’s students are USD 5 200 higher for students from outside the EU/EEA, while the difference is less than USD 1 800 in Austria and Switzerland. In Italy, Japan and Spain, public institutions charge similar fees for national and foreign students enrolled in master’s programmes, while no tuition fees are applied to either national or foreign students in Norway (Table C5.1.).
Higher fees for foreign students could affect international student flows. However, the data show that foreign students are not necessarily discouraged by the higher tuition fees they face in some countries. For example, international students represent 39% of master’s students in Australia and 19% of those in New Zealand, compared to an average of only 15% in OECD countries, even though their tuition fees for foreign students are among the highest across OECD countries (see Table B4.3.).
Tertiary education in countries with higher fees for foreign students can still be attractive because of the quality and prestige of their educational institutions, the language spoken in the country, and the expected labour-market opportunities in the country after graduation. In addition, a few countries offer additional grants and scholarships to foreign students from disadvantaged social backgrounds.
Tuition fees vary not only across countries and educational levels, but also within countries for a given level of education. There are three main factors influencing this.
The first is how much autonomy institutions enjoy in setting their fees (either entirely or within certain limits). For instance, in the Netherlands and Romania, tuition fees are set by the government, but a few institutions may charge higher fees (see minimum and maximum fees in Table C5.2.).
The second reason behind differences in tuition fees for a given level of study is to encourage enrolment in fields where there is less demand, or to take account of the disparity in costs between programmes. In New Zealand, for example, fees are set by individual institutions, and broadly reflect cost-based differences. Differential fee structures can also reflect the different employment prospects experienced by graduates from different fields of study. Globally, 9 of the 17 countries for which data on master’s or equivalent programmes are available charge different annual tuition fees for different fields of study. Australia and Canada have the widest range of tuition fees charged by public institutions to national students enrolled at this level. In Australia, fees range from USD 3 300 per year in the field of education to around USD 15 800 for programmes in business, administration and law, while in Canada annual fees range from USD 4 400 for arts and humanities programmes to around USD 14 900 for business, administration and law (Table C5.2.).
It is difficult to find a common trend across all OECD countries but fees charged by public institutions for master’s programmes in in education; arts and humanities; and engineering, manufacturing and construction are among the lowest of all fields of study in most countries. These are the fields of study where graduates’ labour-market wages are often lower than in other fields (OECD, 2021[2]). In contrast, fields such as health and welfare; and business, administration and law are among the most expensive in many countries, possibly because some of these programmes may have the highest market returns but more likely because of the (perceived or actual) cost of providing them. Despite these overall trends, there are country differences in fees for the same fields of study. For example, while business, administration and law have the highest annual fees in Australia, Canada and Spain, it is the cheapest of all broad fields of study after social sciences, journalism and information in Lithuania. These differences can be partly explained by structural differences in countries’ economies but also by the value of qualifications on the labour market which varies from one country to another (Table C5.2.).
Tuition fee waivers are the third reason for variations in tuition fees within countries and why the fees paid by students might differ from those charged by institutions. When students receive a waiver, even though the tuition fee charged by an institution does not itself change, the fees paid are lower as the fee waiver is deducted. Compared to scholarships, which offer direct financial support to students, a tuition waiver is often granted by an educational institution and indirectly financed by the public sector through funding to the educational institution or from the institution’s own resources, depending on the institution type and the type of waiver granted. Waivers can eliminate the cost of tuition for a designated number of credit hours, but cannot be used for any other educational expense. In a number of countries and other participants with available data (Croatia, France, French Community of Belgium, Italy and Spain), between 23% and 57% of students enrolled at master’s level in public institutions, particularly students from low-income backgrounds, were benefiting from a scholarship or a tuition fee waiver in 2022/23 (Table C5.3.)
The increase in tertiary student numbers in most countries over the past decade is putting a strain on the financing of education systems. Between 2013 and 2022, enrolment in higher education institutions rose by an average of 9%, with a few exceptions, such as Korea, Lithuania, New Zealand, Romania and the United States, where enrolment figures fell (Table C5.3.).
This growing demand and the need to maintain the quality of education provided in the face of an influx of students, inevitably translates into increased financial pressure. The data indicate that tuition fees have risen over the past decade, albeit at a considerably slower pace than inflation in many countries.
In real terms, tuition fee increases have exceeded the rate of inflation in half of the 17 countries and other participants for which data are available. For the rest, the cost of obtaining a master's degree has not risen faster than the general increase in the prices of goods and services. Master’s fees for national students increased in real terms over the last decade in Australia, Flemish Community of Belgium, Croatia, Italy (bachelor’s and master’ programmes are combined) and Lithuania, with Lithuania experiencing the most notable rise, of 75% over this period. Meanwhile, Austria, the French Community of Belgium, France, Germany (bachelor’s and master’ programmes are combined), Romania and Spain recorded the largest decreases in real terms in tuition fees for master's programmes over this period. In addition, among the four countries for which data are available and which do not charge tuition fees (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden), the situation has not changed for national students, but Finland introduced tuition fees for foreign students during this period, while Sweden introduced tuition fees for non-EU/EEA students just before, in 2011 (Table C5.3.).
Within most countries and other participants, changes in bachelor's and master's tuition fees have followed a similar pattern, with both tending to increase or decrease at similar rates. However, there are exceptions, notably Australia and Lithuania, where annual tuition fees for master’s programmes rose faster than those for bachelor's during the period. Conversely, in Spain master's tuition fees fell faster than bachelor's fees over the same period (Figure C5.2.).
Broadening access to tertiary education has been a public policy objective for decades, but the fiscal tools used to do so are quite diverse. High levels of educational attainment can be found in countries where tuition fees tend to be high and also in those with low fees (Cattaneo et al., 2020[3]).
Countries also take different approaches to providing financial support to tertiary students. Regardless of the level of tuition fees, countries and other participants can be categorised according to how widespread public financial support is for tertiary students. In 2022/23, at least 80% of all national students in Australia, Denmark, England (United Kingdom), Sweden and the United States, received public financial support in the form of student loans, scholarships or grants. In Finland, Lithuania, New Zealand and Norway the share was between 50% and 75%; in Canada, France, Italy, Romania and Spain it was 30-45%; and in Austria, Croatia, the Flemish and French Communities of Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland no more than 25% of students received any public support (Table C5.3. and Figure C5.3.). In these countries and other participants, public financial support targets selected groups of students, such as those from socio-economically disadvantaged families.
In the last decade, the share of tertiary students receiving public financial support has increased by at least 7 percentage points in England (United Kingdom), Italy, Lithuania and Spain; the largest increases were in Italy (where it rose by 25 percentage points). In contrast, the share of students fell substantially in New Zealand (by 15 percentage points) and Switzerland (by 6 percentage points) between 2012/13 and 2022/23. The decline for New Zealand was due to the introduction in 2018 of zero tuition fees for the first year for first-time tertiary students. The share has remained stable in all other OECD countries and other participants with available data, changing by at most 6 percentage points (Figure C5.3).
What type of financial support to offer tertiary students – whether in the form of loans, or of grants or scholarships – is a key question faced by many educational systems. On the one hand, advocates of student loans argue that they allow a larger number of students to benefit from the available resources. If the funding spent on scholarships and grants was used to guarantee and subsidise loans, the same public resources could support a larger number of students, and overall access to tertiary education would increase (OECD, 2014[4]). Loans also shift some of the cost of tertiary education to those who benefit from it the most – the individual students – reflecting the high private returns of completing tertiary education. On the other hand, student loans are less effective than grants at encouraging low-income students to access tertiary education. In addition, opponents of loans argue that high levels of student debt at graduation may have adverse effects on both students and governments if large numbers of students are unable to repay their loans (OECD, 2014[4]). A large share of indebted graduates could be a problem if their employment prospects are not sufficient to guarantee their student loan repayments.
A well-designed and well-resourced student support programme can help to meet the policy goals of equity and inclusion in tertiary education systems. Currently, the balance between private and public funding on the one hand, and countries’ ability to provide various forms of public subsidies for tertiary institutions on the other – including indirect subsidies to tertiary students (Box C5.1.) – have been two factors that help to explain the wide differences in approaches to the financing of tertiary education.
Indirect subsidies to students during their studies are crucial for ensuring equitable access to education and supporting students' overall well-being. These subsidies, which can take various forms including transportation discounts, medical expenses coverage, affordable housing options, meal plans, and provision of books and supplies, help alleviate the financial burden on students. They complement direct subsidies like loans, grants and scholarships by addressing specific daily needs that affect students' ability to succeed academically. By reducing out-of-pocket expenses for essential services, indirect subsidies ensure that all students, regardless of their financial background, can focus on their studies without the added stress of managing basic living costs.
The most common subsidies provided to tertiary students are for transport (in 13 out 18 countries and other participants with data available), medical services (in 10 out of 19) and for studying abroad (in 9 out of 19). Transportation subsidies, offered by countries such as Germany, France and the Netherlands, typically involve discounted rates on public transport passes, significantly reducing travel costs for students. For instance, German students benefit from the “Semester Ticket”, which offers unlimited travel at a reduced fee. Medical service subsidies also frequently come in the form of discounted health insurance premiums, as seen in France, where students receive comprehensive health coverage at reduced rates. Austria, Denmark, Finland, the Flemish and French communities of Belgium, France, Japan, Korea and the Netherlands all provide substantial financial support for students studying abroad to encourage international education. For example, Austria offers scholarships to its students for studying overseas, while the Erasmus+ programme provides grants for students across the European Union to study in other member states. These initiatives make international experiences more accessible, fostering greater academic and cultural exchange (Figure C5.4.).
The other subsidies are less common. Subsidies for food, such as subsidised meals or food programmes, are available in only seven countries and other participants, namely Austria, Canada, Croatia, Finland, France, the French Community of Belgium and Korea. In Canada, many universities offer meal plans and dining services that provide students with access to affordable and nutritious meals on campus. Subsidies for social and recreational purposes are even rarer, with such support available only in France and Germany. Students in both these countries can benefit from discounted rates for cultural events, sports facilities and recreational activities. Only Canada and the French Community of Belgium subsidise books and supplies, giving students financial assistance for educational materials to help reduce the overall cost of academic resources (Figure C5.4.).
Two other important forms of public subsidy are family and child allowances that are contingent on student status, and tax reductions. Family and child allowances are provided by two-thirds of the countries and other participants with available data. For instance, Austria offers family allowances for students up to the age of 24. Tax reductions and credits to support student families are available in 12 of the 22 countries and other participants with available data. In the United States, parents can benefit from tax credits like the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) to offset education costs. In England (United Kingdom), if a tertiary student has graduated within a stipulated timeframe and their studies began before 1 August 2014, they can receive a tax reduction based on their student loan repayments made to the bank. France also provides tax reductions for families with dependent children in tertiary education, helping to alleviate the financial burden on students and their families (Figure C5.4.).
Although most scholarships and grants are means-tested or targeted in some way, in many cases tax reductions and family allowances do not take into account the needs and income of the students or their families. This means that middle- and high-income families could benefit more from them than low-income families. Some research (Dynarski, 2003[5]) shows that channelling money for education to families through tax reductions (as opposed to providing subsidies through means-tested grants or loans) has little effect on participation in education. However, the provision of tax reductions and family allowances contingent on student status is, in many countries, motivated by factors other than education policy.
When comparing tertiary student financial support systems with the level of tuition fees charged to national students, OECD countries and other participants fall into three clear groups: those with no tuition fees and high financial support to students (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden); those with high tuition fees and high financial support to students (Australia, England [United Kingdom], Lithuania, New Zealand and the United States); and those with low or moderate tuition fees and targeted financial support received by less than 50% of tertiary students (Austria, the Flemish and French Communities of Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany Italy, Romania, and Spain) (Table C5.1. and Table C5.3.). These groupings have been relatively stable for several decades, despite the many recent measures taken by many countries during and following the COVID-19 pandemic, both in terms of the cost of education and the public support available to students (Box C5.2.).
The high tuition fees group tend to be places where private entities other than households make a larger contribution to funding tertiary institutions. They also tend to have well-developed student financial aid systems, offering either loans with income-dependent repayments, means-tested grants or a combination of both. In England (United Kingdom), more than 90% of students only receive loans (rather than scholarships or grants) to cover the cost of tertiary studies. In the United States, 38% of students benefit from both loans and scholarships or grants, 35% from scholarships/grants alone and 7% from loans alone. In Australia and New Zealand, most students receive either loans alone or both loans and scholarships or grants. In Lithuania, 57% of students only receive scholarships or grants. Canada is a partial exception in this group, since tuition fees are high for national students, but only 39% of them receive financial public support (Table C5.3.).
In contrast, students in countries with more progressive tax regimes often pay no tuition fees and have access to generous public subsidies for tertiary education but face high income tax rates on their earnings later in life. In countries with available data where public institutions charge no tuition fees at the bachelor’s and master’s level, most national students receive financial support in the form of both loans and scholarships or grants, in order to cover their living costs. This is true for at least 50% of students in Finland, Norway and Sweden. In contrast, in Denmark, 66% of students receive financial support in the form of scholarships or grants alone, and only 18% receive both loans and scholarships or grants (Table C5.1.).
Finally, in OECD countries and other participants including Austria, the French Community of Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Romania, Spain and Switzerland, where annual average tuition fees for tertiary education are below USD 3 100, less than 45% of students receive any form of financial support – and those who do tend to receive it only in the form of grants or scholarships (Table C5.1.).
The amount of money students receive or borrow also varies substantially. Among OECD countries and other participants with data available, the average amount of public or government-guaranteed private loans that tertiary students borrow each year ranges from USD 2 900 per student in the United States to over USD 15 000 in England (United Kingdom), France and Norway (where tuition is free of charge and loans finance students’ living costs). Average scholarships or grants received by students range from USD 2 200 per year in the United States to USD 9 700 in Italy. However, these figures should be interpreted with some caution as they cover different reference years among countries (Table C5.3.).
Interestingly, in about 60% of countries and other participants with data available, the average scholarship or grant is generous enough to exceed the average annual tuition fees charged by public institutions for a master’s programme. In these countries, scholarships and grants can also help fund students' living expenses. In the remaining countries, the amount received in not enough to cover students’ fees entirely. For example, they cover 17% of the average annual master's fee in the United States, 52% in Korea, 63% in Canada, and more than 75% in Australia. Although scholarships and grants are reported as an average for all students in higher education, not just master’s students, the comparison is nonetheless interesting. In these countries, students who receive scholarships or grants may also need to borrow money in the form of student loans to finance their studies if they do not have the financial capacity to pay by themselves (Table C5.1. and Table C5.3.).
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on tuition fees and public support for students worldwide. Many countries have faced economic challenges, leading to increased financial strain on individuals and families. In response, some governments implemented measures between 2020 and 2021 to alleviate the burden on students. This has included freezing or reducing tuition fees, adjusting the support available for international students, providing emergency financial assistance for all students and institutions, and expanding eligibility criteria for student support programmes.
The question today is whether these measures have been maintained in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. While initial responses were crucial for immediate relief, the sustainability and continuation of these reforms are now under scrutiny. Policy makers and educational institutions are evaluating the long-term impacts of these interventions and determining if they should become permanent fixtures. The ongoing challenge is to balance financial viability for educational institutions with the need to maintain affordable and accessible education for all students, particularly as the world navigates the recovery phase from the pandemic.
Figure C5.5. shows that, of the 21 countries and other participants for which data are available, only around one-third implemented measures on fee levels to support students between 2021 and 2023: Austria, the French Community of Belgium, Italy, Korea, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain. For instance, Italy increased the threshold to benefit for fee exemptions. In Spain, fees for master's programmes, which are required to practice a regulated profession, have been adjusted to match those for bachelor's programmes for the 2022/23 academic year. In the Netherlands, first-time entrants to tertiary education now pay only half of the tuition fees in their first year of study but this measure will be abolished from the 2024-2025 academic year. These reforms aimed at easing the financial burden on students have typically been coupled with enhanced public support measures for students.
Substantial efforts have also been made over this period to increase the number of students benefiting from scholarships or grants, or to increase the amount of these financial aids. Thus, in 13 of the 22 countries and other participants, there has been a notable increase in the share of students receiving public grants or scholarships between 2021 and 2023. This trend reflects a broader commitment to making tertiary education more accessible in the post-pandemic era. For example, on-demand places offering public scholarships and income-contingent loans will be available in Australia to all indigenous students from 2024. In Austria, the age limit for receiving scholarships has been raised by 3 years to 38. In Israel, the number of scholarships doubled this year while the income limit for public grants and loans was temporarily abolished in Sweden between January 2020 and June 2022. In most of these countries, not only did the proportion of students benefiting from grants and scholarships rise, but the average amount awarded also saw a large uptick.
Increasing the proportion of students benefiting from public or government-guaranteed private loans is a measure that has been less widespread during this period, partly because not that many of the countries and other participants had well-developed loan systems. Only 4 out of the 19 – Australia, Finland, Lithuania and the Netherlands– have seen an increase in the share of students availing themselves of such loans during this period.
Finally, although fee waivers are a valuable tool for supporting students, they seem to have been less commonly adopted than other forms of financial aid to support students in the wake of COVID-19. Only one-third of the countries and other participants with available data have extended waivers to a larger share of students over the period (Figure C5.5.).
In this chapter, national students are defined as the citizens of a country who are studying within that country. Foreign students are those who are not citizens of the country in which the data are collected. While pragmatic and operational, this classification is inappropriate for capturing student mobility because of differing national policies regarding the naturalisation of immigrants. For European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA) countries, citizens from other EU countries usually pay the same fees as national students. In these cases, foreign students refer to students who are citizens of countries outside the EU. Further details of these definitions are available in Chapter B4.
Private institutions are those controlled and managed by a non-governmental organisation (e.g. a church, a trade union or business enterprise, foreign or international agency), or whose governing board consists mostly of members not selected by a public agency. Private institutions are considered government-dependent if they receive more than 50% of their core funding from government agencies or if their teaching personnel are paid by a government agency. Independent private institutions receive less than 50% of their core funding from government agencies and their teaching personnel are not paid by a government agency. In the OECD definitions, independent private institutions do not refer exclusively to for-profit institutions; some of then are not-for-profit institutions. Tuition fee amounts refer to gross tuition fees charged by institutions, before grants, scholarships and tuition waivers are applied.
Tuition fees and loan amounts in national currencies are converted into equivalent USD by dividing the national currency by the purchasing power parity (PPP) index for gross domestic product. The amounts of tuition fees and associated proportions of students should be interpreted with caution, as they represent the weighted averages of the main tertiary programmes and may not cover all educational institutions.
Student loans include the full range of student loans extended or guaranteed by governments, in order to provide information on the level of support received by students. The gross amount of loans provides an appropriate measure of the financial aid to current participants in education. Interest payments and repayments of principal by borrowers should be taken into account when assessing the net cost of student loans to public and private lenders. In most countries, loan repayments do not flow to education authorities, and the money is not available to them to cover other expenditure on education.
Chapter C5 takes the full amount of scholarships/grants and loans (gross) into account when discussing financial aid to current students. Some OECD countries have difficulty quantifying the amount of loans to students. Therefore, data on student loans should also be treated with caution.
Data refers to the academic year 2022/23 or calendar year 2022 and are based on a special survey administered by the OECD in 2023. Trend data refers to academic year 2012/13 or calendar year 2012.
References
[3] Cattaneo, M. et al. (2020), “Analysing policies to increase graduate population: Do tuition fees matter?”, European Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 10/1, pp. 10-27, https://doi.org/10.1080/21568235.2019.1694422.
[5] Dynarski, S. (2003), “Does aid matter? Measuring the effect of student aid on college attendance and completion”, American Economic Review, Vol. 93/1, pp. 279-288, https://doi.org/10.1257/000282803321455287.
[2] OECD (2021), How does earnings advantage from tertiary education vary by field of study?, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/8a4b8f7a-en.
[1] OECD (2019), Education at a Glance 2019: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/f8d7880d-en.
[4] OECD (2014), Education at a Glance 2014: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/eag-2014-en.
Cut-off date for the data: 14 June 2024. Any updates on data and more breakdowns can be found on the OECD Data Explorer (http://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/4s).
In equivalent USD converted using PPPs, for full-time students, by type of institutions and level of education
Note: See under Chapter C5 Tables for StatLink and Box C5.3 for the notes related to this Table.
In equivalent USD converted using PPPs, for full-time students
Note: See under Chapter C5 Tables for StatLink and Box C5.3 for the notes related to this Table.
Note: See under Chapter C5 Tables for StatLink and Box C5.3 for the notes related to this Table.
Table C5.1. Annual average (or most common) tuition fees charged by tertiary institutions to national and foreign students (2022/23)
*Legends column 16:
A. Differentiated fees for national, out-of-state and foreign students ; B. Distinction between national/EU/EEA students and from outside the EU/EEA. For Korea, differentiated fees for national and foreign students ; C. Differentiated fees for national, out-of-state and sometimes foreign students.
1. Reference year: calendar year 2021 for Australia and Germany; and academic year 2021/22 for England (UK), Spain and the United States.
2. Government-dependent and independent private institutions are combined. In Germany, only academic programmes are included.
3. Government-dependent private institutions instead of independent private institutions.
4. Tuition fees for foreign students typically refer to tuition fees for out-of-state national students. However, in a minority of institutions, tuition fees can be lower for out-of-state national students.
5. Government-dependent private institutions instead of public institutions.
Table C5.2. Annual tuition fees charged by public institutions to national students enrolled in master's or equivalent programmes, by field of study (2022/23)
1. Reference year: calendar year 2021 for Australia and Germany; and academic year 2021/22 for England (UK), Spain and the United States.
2. Including bachelor's or equivalent programmes and doctoral or equivalent programmes. Only academic programmes are included.
3. Including doctoral or equivalent programmes.
Table C5.3. Variation of tuition fees between 2012/13 and 2022/23 and public financial support to students enrolled in tertiary programmes (2022/23)
1. Reference years for tuition fees, see Table C5.1. In Germany, column 2 include doctoral or equivalent programmes, and only academic programmes are included. Reference years for distribution of public financial support: academic year 2020/21 for Canada, calendar year 2021 for Australia and Germany; and academic year 2021/22 for Austria, England (UK), France and Spain; academic year 2019/20 for United States.
2. Reference year for trends - Tuition fees: calendar year 2011 for Australia; academic year 2011/12 for England (UK); and academic year 2014/15 for Romania. Public financial support: academic year 2011/12 for England (UK) and the United States; and calendar year 2014 for Lithuania.
3. Public institutions only.
4. Master's programmes also include doctoral programmes or equivalent.
5. The distribution of loans refers to short-cycle tertiary and bachelor's or equivalent programmes only.
6. Bachelor's programmes also include short-cycle tertiary programmes.
7. Government-dependent private institutions instead of public institutions.
See Definitions and Methodology sections and Education at a Glance 2024 Sources Methodologies and Technical Notes (https://doi.org/10.1787/e7d20315-en) for more information.
Data and more breakdowns are available on the OECD Data Explorer (http://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/4s).
Please refer to the Reader's Guide for information concerning symbols for missing data and abbreviations.