Our parents weren’t lying when they kept insisting that having a good education behind you is the perfect starting point to a successful life full of joy and accomplishments. This is why having an international education can be extra beneficial and ensure you get a good job later on. However, sending your kids to school abroad, either since a young age due to relocating the entire family, or in their young adult lives, when they choose to study at an university abroad, can be a scary thought.

And it’s scary not only because of the great distance that will separate them from their country of birth, but also because schooling abroad can be incredibly expensive in some countries. As any expat very well know and can vouche for, living costs abroad can either be decent, or awfully high depending on what country you’re relocating too. And, given the fact that most people move away in order to live in more successful countries with better economies, the costs of everything will naturally be higher than those of your own country.

The expatfinder International School Fee Survey of 2016 managed to gather schooling costs information from as much as 98 countries, totaling up to a number of 707 schools subjected to the survey. This revealed some information we were all expecting, as well as some things that came as a huge surprise.

Top 10 Most Expensive Countries in Terms of Schooling Costs

While most of us would be expecting to see the United States ranking on the number one position in the most expensive schools top ten, it’s actually not the case. The top ten of the most expensive countries when it comes to schooling costs goes as following.

1. China
2. Switzerland
3. Belgium
4. Great Britain
5. Hong Kong
6. United States of America
7. Singapore
8. Malaysia
9. Austria
10. Australia

However, out of these 10 countries, the US are in fact one of the few that don’t offer some sort of advantageous student loan or scholarship system.

Top 5 Most Affordable Schools in the World

One the opposite end of the spectrum, we have the most affordable schools in the world. This top five deliberately excludes schools in which there is no tuition charge, and focuses on lowest fees in the case of those who have them. The top 5 thus goes as follows:

1. Oakley College in Spain (480 USD tuition fee)
2. Plantio International School of Valencia ( 500 USD tuition fee)
3. The British School in Finland (740 USD tuition fee)
4. Sir Harry Johnston International Primary School ( 770 USD tuition fee)
5. Colegio Anglo-Colombiano in Colombia ( 860 USD tuition fee)