NZ tops OECD list for education spend

New Zealand has overtaken the previous top country, Mexico, on the list. Photo / Thinkstock

New Zealand has topped the list of 34 OECD countries for the amount of money spent on education.

The OECD annual report on education was released overnight and said New Zealand directed 21.2 per cent of its public spending to education, Radio New Zealand reported.

The data was from 2009 figures.

New Zealand has overtaken the previous top country, Mexico, by nearly one percentage point.

The OECD average was 13 per cent.

The report also found New Zealand spent 7.2 per cent of its gross domestic product on education, with only Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland exceeding that amount.