Key points:
- The USA and China are the most expensive countries in the world for international education, with 6 cities in the top 10 between them.
- Despite its reputation as an expensive region, no Middle Eastern city included in our research is positioned within the top half of our rankings.
- Not all of the least expensive prices are in developing world regions. Europe - specifically Spain, Portugal, Denmark and Bulgaria - are also among the cheapest.
- South Africa and Malaysia are the countries with the least expensive international school prices, with 4 of the 10 cheapest cities between them.
At the International Schools Database, we help local and expat parents choose the perfect international school for their children. Our database allows parents to find, research and compare international schools in cities across the world. Naturally, this means that we gather and analyse a huge amount of information about international schools.
Starting in 2019, we began using this data to evaluate the prices of international schools across the globe. We are now in our fifth year of this project, and we have been able to pinpoint certain price facts such as the most expensive regions, the regions with the biggest variety of prices, and more.
Below, we have analysed the worldwide price data from 75 cities in 49 countries, in graph and table forms. While we have used all price data available to us as of Dec 31st 2023, there may be additional schools and prices not included in each city. This is because they do not make their price data available or because it is unknown to us. Links to additional research focusing on each world region individually can be found at the bottom of this article and here can be found the results of the previous year 2022.
Worldwide Prices of International Schools Per Year
The graph below is known as a box plot graph. It shows a comprehensive view of the range of prices in each city, instead of just an average. A single average price may not necessarily represent the full picture of prices in each destination. Since there is a lot to unpack in this graph, we have also provided a little explanation on how to read the graph easily at the end of the article.
Highlights and takeaways from the research findings
While New York City is once again the most expensive destination in the world for international schools, it is cities across China that really dominate the top end of the pricing scale. Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou all feature in the top 10 highest prices. In contrast the USA only has two cities in the top 10 - NYC and San Francisco (including the Bay Area). Having said that however, the median price of schools in New York City ($45,950) is still significantly higher than those in the Chinese cities. Beijing has the second highest median price ($36,799) in the world after NYC, but there is still almost a $10,000 difference between the two.
One somewhat surprising fact that emerged from our research is that no Middle Eastern city featured in the top half of our rankings. Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman is the most expensive city for international schools in the Middle East with a median cost of $10,959 per year. However globally, it is only the 38th most expensive city. All other Middle Eastern cities included in our data are even lower in the global rankings.
Europe is another world region that is generally considered expensive. However, our data shows that there is a very wide range of prices on offer there when it comes to international schools. Europe has prices at both the very top (in Switzerland and the United Kingdom) and very bottom (in Denmark and Spain) of the price scale. Although not in the 10 least expensive cities, the Algarve (Portugal) and Sofia (Bulgaria) are also worth mentioning - they are the 58th and 59th least expensive in our list of 75 cities.
In terms of countries, South Africa and Malaysia stand out as the least expensive places in the world for international schooling with 5 cities in the bottom 10 (Ipoh - Perak, Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa). In terms of regions, Africa still dominates this end of the scale. As well as South Africa, Kenya (Nairobi), Uganda (Kampala) and Morocco (Casablanca) also feature in the bottom 10. Median prices are all well below $10,000 per year here, in contrast to the other end of the scale discussed earlier.
You can find a breakdown of exact prices for each city in the table below. But if you’d like even more analysis, we have also compiled price data by region; you can find links to this additional research at the bottom of this article. If you require any further information or have additional questions, don't hesitate to contact us at andrea@international-schools-database.com.
