Education

7 countries where higher education is free

By Allana Akhtar
A-Level results
Niall Carson/PA Images via Getty Images
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As the US faces a higher education affordability crisis, students from other developed countries don't pay anything for college. 

Of the 36 developed, democratic countries that currently make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), seven of them subsidize tuition for public colleges and universities.

Read more: 10 mind-blowing facts that show just how dire the student-loan crisis in America is

The US, in contrast, charges the most money to attend public colleges among OECD countries. The average annual tuition for US public colleges cost more than $6,000, according to a 2011 report from OECD. When you add up the cost of living, books, and other expenses, the average cost of US in-state public university can total $25,290 a year, according to Value Penguin.

Using the OECD's 2011 report, Business Insider analyzed the countries where citizens don't pay tuition fees. (Note that there were some discrepancies between the data in 2011 and the most recent data available in 2019 regarding which countries were included in the dataset. Business Insider has reached out to OECD for more information.)

Here are seven countries where students can pursue higher education for free. 

Sweden does not charge tuition for both public and private colleges.

university of stockholm
Students at Stockholm University. JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images

The percentage of young adults who will attend university: 68%

The level of public expenditure on tertiary education per student (in USD): $20,864

Source: OECD, PBS

Denmark spends 0.6% of its total GDP on subsidies for college students.

Campus Hall University of Southern Denmark
University of Southern Denmark. Anthony Coleman/View Pictures/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The percentage of young adults who will attend university: 55%

The level of public expenditure on tertiary education per student (in USD): $17,634

Source: OECD

Finland also provides students with generous scholarships and grants to finance their studies or living expenses.

Helsinki University City Centre Campus
Helsinki University. Independent Picture Service/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The percentage of young adults who will attend university: 69%

The level of public expenditure on tertiary education per student (in USD): $15,402

Source: OECD

Ireland has paid tuition fees for most full-time undergraduate students since 1995.

A-Level results
Students checking A-level results. Niall Carson/PA Images via Getty Images

The percentage of young adults who will attend university: 51%

The level of public expenditure on tertiary education per student (in USD): $16,284

Source: OECD

Iceland tuition fees vary by your major because of differences in both the cost of studies and labor-market demands.

Reykjavik University students
Reykjavik University. Melanie Stetson Freeman/The Christian Science Monitor via Getty Images

The percentage of young adults who will attend university: 77%

The level of public expenditure on tertiary education per student (in USD): $10,429

Source: OECD

Norway pays the most for college subsidies, spending 1.3% of its annual GDP.

oslo norway
Oslo, Norway's capital city. Getty Images

The percentage of young adults who will attend university: 77%

The level of public expenditure on tertiary education per student (in USD): $18,942

Source: OECD

The Czech Republic provides small subsidies to help students with college costs aside from covering the cost of tuition.

czech university students
Czech university students. Sean Gallup/Newsmakers

The percentage of young adults who will attend university: 59%

The level of public expenditure on tertiary education per student (in USD): $8,738

Source: OECD

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Allana Akhtar
Allana Akhtar
Allana Akhtar was a senior health reporter for Insider, where she covers the emerging wellness industry and general health topics. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Allana wrote extensively about nurses, mask mandates, the vaccine rollout, and disparities in access to health. Her articles include features on nurses needing to re-use PPE in the early days of the pandemic, ones who struggled to get paid time off after getting COVID-19, and those who left bedside care after grueling pandemic working conditions. Allana also spoke to flight attendants and retail workers who faced violence as they enforced mask mandates, and community health workers who said they struggled to receive equitable vaccine access during the initial rollout. Allana now reports on emerging trends within the wellness industry, including the Westernization of indigenous medicine and dangerous wellness trends spread through social media. She also writes about plastic surgery, racial disparities in healthcare, and breaking health news. Allana has won numerous awards for her work, including the Best News Story by the Michigan Press Association in 2015, Best Reporter Covering Nurses in 2019, and the Morris and Lola Wasserstein Award for her contribution to the the University of Michigan's student paper as an Honors student. Before Insider, Allana wrote for USA TODAY, US News & World Report, Money Magazine, Health Magazine, Jalopnik, and more. You can email her at aakhtar@bjinnox.com, call/text her at (646) 376-6058, or follow her on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Secure tips line: Signal # 248 760 0208'We're grossly unprepared': Nurses share their frustration as the coronavirus spreads with little direction from the government or hospitals on how to mitigate it'Sexy nurse' costumes demean one of the most in-demand professions in American life — and they're a bestseller on Amazon right nowFlight attendants describe 'unprecedented' violence as travel returns and passenger aggression soarsG/O Media fired a queer employee of color who wore crop tops, shorts, and heels to work, violating a brand-new dress code that others say they routinely violated without being punishedContractors at controversial startup Rev say they worked long hours for little pay, feared they could lose their job at any time, and had to transcribe interviews with sexual-abuse survivors without warning
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