StatsNode The world in numbers

Government expenditure on education

121 countries, 2023. Unit: % of GDP.

First in the ranking

16.4 %

Kiribati

Median country

3.7 %

half above, half below

World

3.6 %

World Bank aggregate

Range

0.0 to 16.4

Somalia - Kiribati

How to read it

Across 121 countries worldwide, the highest value is in Kiribati (16.4 %) and the lowest in Somalia (0.0 %).

The median country is at 3.7 %: half are above, half below.

For the world as a whole, the value fell from 4.0 % in 1999 to 3.6 % in 2023.

General government expenditure on education (current, capital, and transfers) is expressed as a percentage of GDP. It includes expenditure funded by transfers from international sources to government. General government usually refers to local, regional and central governments.

Compare selected countries · on the world map

Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through… · via World Bank WDI (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS) · licence

Education spending over time

Add to chart: World

Ranking of countries

2023

In chart				Continent
Kiribati in chart	1	Kiribati	16.4	Oceania
Tuvalu in chart	2	Tuvalu	12.8	Oceania
Solomon Islands in chart	3	Solomon Islands	8.3	Oceania
Bolivia in chart	4	Bolivia	7.9	South America
Vanuatu in chart	5	Vanuatu	7.6	Oceania
Lesotho in chart	6	Lesotho	7.3	Africa
Kyrgyzstan in chart	7	Kyrgyzstan	6.8	Asia
Tunisia in chart	8	Tunisia	6.7	Africa
Moldova in chart	9	Moldova	6.6	Europe
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in chart	10	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	6.5	North America
Senegal in chart	11	Senegal	6.2	Africa
South Africa in chart	12	South Africa	6.1	Africa
Samoa in chart	13	Samoa	6.1	Oceania
Morocco in chart	14	Morocco	6.0	Africa
Bhutan in chart	15	Bhutan	5.8	Asia
Nauru in chart	16	Nauru	5.8	Oceania
Jamaica in chart	17	Jamaica	5.7	North America
Algeria in chart	18	Algeria	5.6	Africa
Uzbekistan in chart	19	Uzbekistan	5.5	Asia
Tajikistan in chart	20	Tajikistan	5.4	Asia
Burkina Faso in chart	21	Burkina Faso	5.3	Africa
Costa Rica in chart	22	Costa Rica	5.3	North America
Curaçao in chart	23	Curaçao	5.3	North America
Timor-Leste in chart	24	Timor-Leste	5.2	Asia
New Zealand in chart	25	New Zealand	5.2	Oceania
Maldives in chart	26	Maldives	5.2	Asia
Grenada in chart	27	Grenada	5.1	North America
São Tomé and Principe in chart	28	São Tomé and Principe	5.0	Africa
Kuwait in chart	29	Kuwait	5.0	Asia
Eswatini in chart	30	Eswatini	5.0	Africa
Argentina in chart	31	Argentina	5.0	South America
Rwanda in chart	32	Rwanda	4.9	Africa
Belarus in chart	33	Belarus	4.9	Europe
Kazakhstan in chart	34	Kazakhstan	4.9	Asia
Uruguay in chart	35	Uruguay	4.8	South America
Mauritania in chart	36	Mauritania	4.7	Africa
Dominica in chart	37	Dominica	4.7	North America
Mauritius in chart	38	Mauritius	4.6	Africa
Honduras in chart	39	Honduras	4.5	North America
Saudi Arabia in chart	40	Saudi Arabia	4.5	Asia
Seychelles in chart	41	Seychelles	4.5	Africa
Cabo Verde in chart	42	Cabo Verde	4.3	Africa
Puerto Rico in chart	43	Puerto Rico	4.3	North America
Fiji in chart	44	Fiji	4.2	Oceania
Peru in chart	45	Peru	4.2	South America
Belize in chart	46	Belize	4.2	North America
Mali in chart	47	Mali	4.2	Africa
Russia in chart	48	Russia	4.2	Europe
Togo in chart	49	Togo	4.1	Africa
Niger in chart	50	Niger	4.1	Africa
Zambia in chart	51	Zambia	4.1	Africa
Kenya in chart	52	Kenya	4.0	Africa
Nepal in chart	53	Nepal	4.0	Asia
Sint Maarten in chart	54	Sint Maarten	3.9	North America
China in chart	55	China	3.9	Asia
Ecuador in chart	56	Ecuador	3.8	South America
Hong Kong in chart	57	Hong Kong	3.8	Asia
Barbados in chart	58	Barbados	3.8	North America
Dominican Republic in chart	59	Dominican Republic	3.8	North America
Georgia in chart	60	Georgia	3.7	Asia
Azerbaijan in chart	61	Azerbaijan	3.7	Asia
Mongolia in chart	62	Mongolia	3.7	Asia
Philippines in chart	63	Philippines	3.6	Asia
Jordan in chart	64	Jordan	3.5	Asia
Malaysia in chart	65	Malaysia	3.5	Asia
Macao in chart	66	Macao	3.5	Asia
Saint Kitts and Nevis in chart	67	Saint Kitts and Nevis	3.5	North America
Palau in chart	68	Palau	3.4	Oceania
Serbia in chart	69	Serbia	3.4	Europe
Côte d'Ivoire in chart	70	Côte d'Ivoire	3.4	Africa
Paraguay in chart	71	Paraguay	3.4	South America
Republic of the Congo in chart	72	Republic of the Congo	3.3	Africa
Tanzania in chart	73	Tanzania	3.3	Africa
Bosnia and Herzegovina in chart	74	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3.2	Europe
Trinidad and Tobago in chart	75	Trinidad and Tobago	3.2	North America
Benin in chart	76	Benin	3.2	Africa
Chad in chart	77	Chad	3.2	Africa
El Salvador in chart	78	El Salvador	3.2	North America
British Virgin Islands in chart	79	British Virgin Islands	3.2	North America
Guatemala in chart	80	Guatemala	3.1	North America
Antigua and Barbuda in chart	81	Antigua and Barbuda	3.1	North America
Albania in chart	82	Albania	3.1	Europe
Madagascar in chart	83	Madagascar	3.0	Africa
Ethiopia in chart	84	Ethiopia	2.9	Africa
Nicaragua in chart	85	Nicaragua	2.9	North America
Suriname in chart	86	Suriname	2.9	South America
Cameroon in chart	87	Cameroon	2.8	Africa
Iran in chart	88	Iran	2.8	Asia
The Gambia in chart	89	The Gambia	2.8	Africa
Saint Lucia in chart	90	Saint Lucia	2.7	North America
Bahamas in chart	91	Bahamas	2.7	North America
Turkmenistan in chart	92	Turkmenistan	2.7	Asia
Turks and Caicos Islands in chart	93	Turks and Caicos Islands	2.7	North America
Sierra Leone in chart	94	Sierra Leone	2.6	Africa
Thailand in chart	95	Thailand	2.5	Asia
Angola in chart	96	Angola	2.5	Africa
Panama in chart	97	Panama	2.5	North America
Armenia in chart	98	Armenia	2.4	Asia
Comoros in chart	99	Comoros	2.3	Africa
Gabon in chart	100	Gabon	2.3	Africa
Liberia in chart	101	Liberia	2.3	Africa
Cambodia in chart	102	Cambodia	2.2	Asia
Bangladesh in chart	103	Bangladesh	2.2	Asia
Singapore in chart	104	Singapore	2.1	Asia
Pakistan in chart	105	Pakistan	1.9	Asia
Andorra in chart	106	Andorra	1.9	Europe
Bahrain in chart	107	Bahrain	1.9	Asia
Bermuda in chart	108	Bermuda	1.9	North America
Central African Republic in chart	109	Central African Republic	1.8	Africa
Sri Lanka in chart	110	Sri Lanka	1.8	Asia
Monaco in chart	111	Monaco	1.7	Europe
Guinea in chart	112	Guinea	1.7	Africa
Cayman Islands in chart	113	Cayman Islands	1.6	North America
Lebanon in chart	114	Lebanon	1.5	Asia
Indonesia in chart	115	Indonesia	1.3	Asia
Laos in chart	116	Laos	1.2	Asia
Haiti in chart	117	Haiti	1.0	North America
Papua New Guinea in chart	118	Papua New Guinea	0.8	Oceania
Zimbabwe in chart	119	Zimbabwe	0.4	Africa
Nigeria in chart	120	Nigeria	0.3	Africa
Somalia in chart	121	Somalia	0.0	Africa

World Bank, WDI · SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS · 2023 · CC BY 4.0 Source and licence

Biggest changes, 2013-2023

change in percentage points · 96 countries

Largest increase

Kiribati 12.1 → 16.4 +4.3 pp
Mauritania 2.3 → 4.7 +2.4 pp
Maldives 3.4 → 5.2 +1.8 pp
Samoa 4.6 → 6.1 +1.5 pp
Macao 2.1 → 3.5 +1.5 pp

Largest decrease

Zimbabwe 6.0 → 0.4 −5.6 pp
Puerto Rico 6.5 → 4.3 −2.2 pp
Indonesia 3.4 → 1.3 −2.1 pp
Laos 3.2 → 1.2 −2.0 pp
Malaysia 5.5 → 3.5 −2.0 pp

Continents over time

median country of each continent

Education spending - continent medians

Africa Asia Europe North America South America Oceania

By continent

median country

Africa	3.7 %
Asia	3.6 %
Europe	3.3 %
North America	3.4 %
South America	4.2 %
Oceania	5.9 %

Tick a country in the table to add it to the chart above, up to six at a time. The ranking uses the latest year for which at least half of the countries have a value; countries without a value that year are not listed.