Government spending on education

Public spending on education as a share of GDP.

measured by: World Bank
originally from: UNESCO Institute for Statistics
years covered: 1970–2025
subject: Society

Neither end of this scale is better. It is context, not a score.

How this is measured

Total general-government expenditure on education — all levels, capital and current — over GDP. Neither end of it is better: a rich country can spend a smaller share and far more per pupil, and a rising share can mean a shrinking economy rather than a growing commitment.

Highest first for 2023

91 countries and territories have a figure for 2023. This is the most recent year the series covers well; the viewer holds every year from 1970.

#	Country	Region	Education spend
1	Solomon Islands	Asia-Pacific	8.3%
2	Bolivia	Americas	7.9%
3	Vanuatu	Asia-Pacific	7.6%
4	Lesotho	Sub-Saharan Africa	7.3%
5	Kyrgyzstan	Eurasia	6.8%
6	Tunisia	Middle East & North Africa	6.7%
7	Moldova	Eurasia	6.6%
8	Senegal	Sub-Saharan Africa	6.2%
9	South Africa	Sub-Saharan Africa	6.1%
10	Morocco	Middle East & North Africa	6.0%
11	Bhutan	Asia-Pacific	5.8%
12	Jamaica	Americas	5.7%
13	Algeria	Middle East & North Africa	5.6%
14	Uzbekistan	Eurasia	5.5%
15	Tajikistan	Eurasia	5.4%
16	Burkina Faso	Sub-Saharan Africa	5.3%
17	Costa Rica	Americas	5.3%
18	Timor-Leste	Asia-Pacific	5.2%
19	New Zealand	Asia-Pacific	5.2%
20	Kuwait	Middle East & North Africa	5.0%
21	Eswatini	Sub-Saharan Africa	5.0%
22	Argentina	Americas	5.0%
23	Rwanda	Sub-Saharan Africa	4.9%
24	Belarus	Eurasia	4.9%
25	Kazakhstan	Eurasia	4.9%
26	Uruguay	Americas	4.8%
27	Mauritania	Sub-Saharan Africa	4.7%
28	Honduras	Americas	4.5%
29	Saudi Arabia	Middle East & North Africa	4.5%
30	Puerto Rico	Americas	4.3%
31	Fiji	Asia-Pacific	4.2%
32	Peru	Americas	4.2%
33	Belize	Americas	4.2%
34	Mali	Sub-Saharan Africa	4.2%
35	Russia	Eurasia	4.2%
36	Togo	Sub-Saharan Africa	4.1%
37	Niger	Sub-Saharan Africa	4.1%
38	Zambia	Sub-Saharan Africa	4.1%
39	Kenya	Sub-Saharan Africa	4.0%
40	Nepal	Asia-Pacific	4.0%
41	China	Asia-Pacific	3.9%
42	Ecuador	Americas	3.8%
43	Dominican Republic	Americas	3.8%
44	Georgia	Eurasia	3.7%
45	Azerbaijan	Eurasia	3.7%
46	Mongolia	Asia-Pacific	3.7%
47	Philippines	Asia-Pacific	3.6%
48	Jordan	Middle East & North Africa	3.5%
49	Malaysia	Asia-Pacific	3.5%
50	Serbia	Europe	3.4%
51	Côte d'Ivoire	Sub-Saharan Africa	3.4%
52	Paraguay	Americas	3.4%
53	Congo	Sub-Saharan Africa	3.3%
54	Tanzania	Sub-Saharan Africa	3.3%
55	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Europe	3.2%
56	Trinidad and Tobago	Americas	3.2%
57	Benin	Sub-Saharan Africa	3.2%
58	Chad	Sub-Saharan Africa	3.2%
59	El Salvador	Americas	3.2%
60	Guatemala	Americas	3.1%
61	Albania	Europe	3.1%
62	Madagascar	Sub-Saharan Africa	3.0%
63	Ethiopia	Sub-Saharan Africa	2.9%
64	Nicaragua	Americas	2.9%
65	Suriname	Americas	2.9%
66	Cameroon	Sub-Saharan Africa	2.8%
67	Iran	Middle East & North Africa	2.8%
68	Gambia	Sub-Saharan Africa	2.8%
69	Bahamas	Americas	2.7%
70	Turkmenistan	Eurasia	2.7%
71	Sierra Leone	Sub-Saharan Africa	2.6%
72	Thailand	Asia-Pacific	2.5%
73	Angola	Sub-Saharan Africa	2.5%
74	Panama	Americas	2.5%
75	Armenia	Eurasia	2.4%
76	Gabon	Sub-Saharan Africa	2.3%
77	Liberia	Sub-Saharan Africa	2.3%
78	Cambodia	Asia-Pacific	2.2%
79	Bangladesh	Asia-Pacific	2.2%
80	Pakistan	Asia-Pacific	1.9%
81	Central African Republic	Sub-Saharan Africa	1.8%
82	Sri Lanka	Asia-Pacific	1.8%
83	Guinea	Sub-Saharan Africa	1.7%
84	Lebanon	Middle East & North Africa	1.5%
85	Indonesia	Asia-Pacific	1.3%
86	Laos	Asia-Pacific	1.2%
87	Haiti	Americas	1.0%
88	Papua New Guinea	Asia-Pacific	0.8%
89	Zimbabwe	Sub-Saharan Africa	0.4%
90	Nigeria	Sub-Saharan Africa	0.3%
91	Somalia	Sub-Saharan Africa	0.0%

Data by year

Show 56 yearly JSON rankings

Follow a year link to open the complete world ranking, including country names, values, positions, source and licence.

Source and licence

World Bank — World Development Indicators

CC BY 4.0. World Bank, World Development Indicators How every source was checked

Other society statistics

Human Development Index Life expectancy Adult literacy Secondary school enrolment Health spending Health costs paid out of pocket Maternal mortality Women in parliament Women in the workforce Fertility rate Urban population Refugees who left Population