Category
Education
Built for education teams deciding where families are paying for schooling themselves, how fast that is growing, and which age bands it is aimed at.
COICOP 10 · WDP 2026.2.3
Education in numbers, 2026 to 2036
USD 1.86T
Spending in 2026
USD 3.17T
Spending in 2036
+USD 1.30T
Added by 2036
5.45%
Annual growth to 2036
USD 228
Per person a year
2.6%
Share of the global wallet
nominal USD, current prices
We map and forecast education spending across cities.
We can identify the future city markets for education.
Annual consumer spending on education, 2000 to 2040.
- Tokyo: USD 15bn in 2000
- New York City: USD 8bn in 2000
- Seoul: USD 8bn in 2000
- Osaka: USD 6bn in 2000
- Los Angeles: USD 6bn in 2000
We analyse which demographics will contribute most to that growth.
By spending tier
- Rich: 25.1% of spending in 2026, 39.5% of the spending added by 2036
- Upper middle: 12.8% of spending in 2026, 16.5% of the spending added by 2036
- Core middle: 25.1% of spending in 2026, 26.9% of the spending added by 2036
- Lower middle: 29.9% of spending in 2026, 17.5% of the spending added by 2036
- Poor: 7.0% of spending in 2026, -0.4% of the spending added by 2036
By age band
- 65 and over: 11.2% of spending in 2026, 19.0% of the spending added by 2036
- 45-65: 28.3% of spending in 2026, 29.8% of the spending added by 2036
- 30-45: 17.6% of spending in 2026, 14.3% of the spending added by 2036
- 15-30: 26.2% of spending in 2026, 26.5% of the spending added by 2036
- 0-15: 16.6% of spending in 2026, 10.4% of the spending added by 2036
We break down education into subcategories.
Area is spending in 2026. USD 1.86T across 5 published lines of the model.
Tertiary education
USD 875bn · 46.9%
Pre-primary and primary education
USD 385bn · 20.7%
Other education
USD 336bn · 18.0%
Secondary education
USD 209bn · 11.2%
USD 59bn
- Post-secondary non-tertiary educationUSD 59bn
Tertiary education
USD 875bn · 46.9%
Pre-primary and primary education
USD 385bn · 20.7%
Other education
USD 336bn · 18.0%
Secondary education
USD 209bn · 11.2%
Post-secondary non-tertiary education
USD 59bn · 3.1%
Five decisions an education team can settle with this data.
01
Market entry and prioritisation
The cities holding the most education spending today are not the ones adding it fastest. Across the forty largest markets in the model the spread runs from 3.1% a year to 10.4%, which is the difference between a market that transforms by 2036 and one that barely moves. We rank every city on the spending that is forming rather than the spending already there.
02
Pricing and affordability
Spending on education by rich consumers compounds at 7.70% a year, against -0.40% for the poorest. A cheaper range can hold its volume and still be defending a shrinking share of the growth, because the growth is not sitting where the volume is. We map spending power against your own price range in every market you sell in.
03
Category and portfolio strategy
Inside the category, secondary education compounds at 5.66% a year while post-secondary non-tertiary education manages 4.10%. Those are two different shelf decisions inside one category averaging 5.45%, and the average is what most portfolio reviews are still built on.
04
Segmentation and targeting
Spending on education by the over-65s compounds at 8.11% a year, against 3.70% for the under-15s. In Seoul the over-65s already hold 13% of the category. A pipeline aimed at the wrong life stage is chasing the slower half of the market, and the gap widens every year to 2036.
05
Demand forecasting and sizing
The category adds $1.30 trillion between 2026 and 2036, and none of it arrives evenly. A capacity decision taken now rests on the market that will exist in ten years rather than the one visible today. We project every market and every year to 2050.
Related categories
Explore adjacent spending
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How education data can help your planning
Out-of-pocket education spending is USD 1.8T in 2026 and grows by USD 1.3T by 2036. Get the deck on where that money goes, who pays it, and what it buys - 190+ countries, 9,000+ cities, annual to 2050.
- Market sizing: USD 1.8T out of pocket in 2026, +USD 1.3T by 2036, USD 230 a head
- School vs university vs courses: university leads in 140 of 190+ markets, school in 36, training in 18
- Where the growth lands: China +USD 410bn, India +USD 200bn, the US +USD 168bn by 2036
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