Japan's public spending on education as a percentage of GDP was the lowest among the OECD countries in 2012, marking the sixth consecutive year that the nation was saddled with the ignominy of being the stingiest spender, the group's latest report on education shows.
Education at a Glance 2015, released by the Paris-based economic institution on Tuesday, found that, in a category covering education all the way from primary school to college, Japan's public spending amounted to just 3.5 percent of its GDP. That was the lowest percentage among 32 of the 34 OECD members where data were available, sharing the bottom spot with Slovakia, against an OECD average of 4.7 percent.
Norway emerged as the largest educational spender in relation to its GDP, at 6.5 percent. Belgium and Iceland followed with 5.9 percent. Figures for Denmark and Greece were not available.
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