Key points:
- The three most expensive countries in the world for international schools were The United States, China, and Switzerland.
- The least expensive region overall for international education was Africa. Of 82 cities around the world included in our research, the highest ranking African city was Nairobi (Kenya) at 63.
- Asia is represented at both the top and bottom ends of our list, with Beijing having the second most expensive median price for international schools in the world ($35,621 per year) and Ipoh-Perak in Malaysia having the least expensive median price in the world ($2,725 per year).
- Only one country (USA) had a median price above $40k per year for international schools. New York City in the United States had the highest median price in the world at $44,600. This was nearly $9k more than the second most expensive city, Beijing.
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 82 cities in 53 countries, in graph and table forms. While we have used all price data available to us as of Dec 31st 2024, 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 2023.
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
The most expensive nations in the world for international education in 2024 were the United States, China and Switzerland - in that order. Of the 10 cities with the highest median prices per year for international schools, 3 were located in the U.S (New York City, San Francisco Bay Area and Washington D.C area), 4 in China (Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou) and 3 in Switzerland (Zurich, Lausanne - Vaud, and Geneva).
Median prices in Switzerland ranged from $24k to over $30k per year. In China, median prices were between $25k and $35k per year. However in the United States median prices ranged from almost $26k to over $44k per year. In fact New York City, which had a median price of $44,600 per year, was not only the most expensive median price in our research. It was also the only median price above $40k per year. There was quite a difference between that and the second most expensive median price - Beijing at $35,621 per year was almost $9k cheaper.
While Asia was well-represented among the most expensive cities for international education, it also had the cheapest median price in the world. In Ipoh-Perak in Malaysia, the median price of an international school was just $2,725 per year. In fact Malaysia had some of the lowest prices in Asia overall. As well as Ipoh-Perak, Kuala Lumpur had a median price of $5,234 per year, Johor Bahru was $5,939 per year, and Penang was $6,144 per year.
When looking at the overall range of prices in each world region however, Africa was the least expensive. Cairo in Egypt had the second lowest median price at $2,966 per year, while the most expensive African city - Nairobi in Kenya - ranked just 63rd out of 82 cities worldwide with a median price of $7,116. Cape Town ($3,979), Mauritius ($4,216), Kampala ($4,341), Casablanca ($5,441) and Johannesburg ($5, 657) were all among the least expensive locations for international schools in the world too.
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.
