Data / Rankings / Government spending on education, share of GDP / Countries

Countries by government spending on education, share of GDP

Kiribati had the highest government spending on education, share of GDP of 166 countries in 2019, at 14.5% of GDP. Nigeria had the lowest, at 0.4% of GDP. The median was 4.2% of GDP. Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

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Highest14.5Kiribati
Lowest0.4Nigeria
Median4.2166 countries

Map of countries, 2019

United Arab Emirates: 3.9 % of GDPAntigua and Barbuda: 3.4 % of GDPAlbania: 3.9 % of GDPArmenia: 2.2 % of GDPAngola: 2.1 % of GDPArgentina: 4.8 % of GDPAustria: 5.2 % of GDPAzerbaijan: 3.2 % of GDPBosnia and Herzegovina: 4 % of GDPBangladesh: 1.1 % of GDPBelgium: 6.3 % of GDPBurkina Faso: 5.5 % of GDPBulgaria: 4.2 % of GDPBurundi: 5.3 % of GDPBenin: 2.7 % of GDPBolivia: 8.1 % of GDPBrazil: 6 % of GDPBahamas: 2.6 % of GDPBhutan: 4.5 % of GDPBotswana: 8.4 % of GDPBelarus: 5 % of GDPBelize: 6 % of GDPCanada: 4.8 % of GDPCentral African Republic: 1.8 % of GDPRepublic of the Congo: 3.2 % of GDPSwitzerland: 5 % of GDPCôte d’Ivoire: 3.4 % of GDPChile: 5.6 % of GDPCameroon: 3 % of GDPColombia: 4.5 % of GDPCosta Rica: 6.7 % of GDPCuba: 9 % of GDPCape Verde: 4.2 % of GDPCyprus: 5.2 % of GDPCzechia: 4.5 % of GDPGermany: 5 % of GDPDenmark: 7.3 % of GDPDominican Republic: 4 % of GDPAlgeria: 5.6 % of GDPEcuador: 4.2 % of GDPEstonia: 5.2 % of GDPSpain: 4.2 % of GDPEthiopia: 4.5 % of GDPFinland: 6.5 % of GDPFiji: 5.2 % of GDPFrance: 5.4 % of GDPGabon: 2.9 % of GDPUnited Kingdom: 5.3 % of GDPGeorgia: 3.8 % of GDPGhana: 3.2 % of GDPGambia: 2.8 % of GDPGuinea: 1.9 % of GDPGreece: 3.6 % of GDPGuatemala: 3.2 % of GDPHong Kong: 3.8 % of GDPHonduras: 6 % of GDPCroatia: 3.9 % of GDPHaiti: 1.1 % of GDPHungary: 4.2 % of GDPIndonesia: 1 % of GDPIreland: 3.2 % of GDPIsrael: 6.1 % of GDPIndia: 3.9 % of GDPIran: 3.2 % of GDPIceland: 7.6 % of GDPItaly: 4.1 % of GDPJamaica: 5.2 % of GDPJordan: 3 % of GDPJapan: 3.2 % of GDPKenya: 5.4 % of GDPKyrgyzstan: 5.1 % of GDPCambodia: 2.1 % of GDPKiribati: 14.5 % of GDPSouth Korea: 4.4 % of GDPKuwait: 6.7 % of GDPCayman Islands: 1.1 % of GDPKazakhstan: 2.9 % of GDPLaos: 2.1 % of GDPLebanon: 2.5 % of GDPLiberia: 2.2 % of GDPLithuania: 3.9 % of GDPLuxembourg: 3.7 % of GDPLatvia: 4.6 % of GDPMorocco: 5 % of GDPMoldova: 6.2 % of GDPMadagascar: 3 % of GDPMali: 3 % of GDPMyanmar: 2 % of GDPMauritania: 1.8 % of GDPMauritius: 4.5 % of GDPMalaysia: 4.2 % of GDPMozambique: 6 % of GDPNamibia: 9.3 % of GDPNiger: 3.5 % of GDPNigeria: 0.4 % of GDPNicaragua: 4.6 % of GDPNetherlands: 5.1 % of GDPNorway: 7.9 % of GDPNepal: 3.9 % of GDPNew Zealand: 5.2 % of GDPOman: 5.1 % of GDPPanama: 3.3 % of GDPPeru: 3.8 % of GDPPapua New Guinea: 0.8 % of GDPPhilippines: 3.4 % of GDPPakistan: 2.2 % of GDPPoland: 4.6 % of GDPPuerto Rico: 3.3 % of GDPPortugal: 4.6 % of GDPParaguay: 3.5 % of GDPQatar: 2.8 % of GDPRomania: 3.6 % of GDPSerbia: 3.5 % of GDPRussia: 3.7 % of GDPRwanda: 3.2 % of GDPSweden: 7.7 % of GDPSingapore: 2.7 % of GDPSlovenia: 4.9 % of GDPSlovakia: 4.3 % of GDPSierra Leone: 4.7 % of GDPSenegal: 5 % of GDPSuriname: 6.8 % of GDPEl Salvador: 3.4 % of GDPEswatini: 5.7 % of GDPChad: 2.4 % of GDPTogo: 4.2 % of GDPThailand: 3 % of GDPTajikistan: 5.5 % of GDPTimor-Leste: 4.2 % of GDPTurkmenistan: 3.1 % of GDPTunisia: 6.2 % of GDPTürkiye: 4.4 % of GDPTrinidad and Tobago: 3.6 % of GDPTanzania: 3.6 % of GDPUkraine: 5.4 % of GDPUganda: 2.3 % of GDPUnited States: 5 % of GDPUruguay: 4.6 % of GDPUzbekistan: 6.3 % of GDPVietnam: 3.1 % of GDPVanuatu: 1.8 % of GDPSamoa: 4.6 % of GDPSouth Africa: 5.9 % of GDPZambia: 4.4 % of GDP
  • Under 2.8
  • 2.8 to 3.4
  • 3.4 to 4.2
  • 4.2 to 4.9
  • 4.9 to 5.6
  • 5.6 and over
  • No data
% of GDP, 2019. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Government expenditure on education, total, % of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS) via World Bank, World Development Indicators. Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

Top 40 countries, 2019

Kiribati: 14.5 % of GDPKiribati14.5Micronesia: 10.7 % of GDPMicronesia10.7Marshall Islands: 9.9 % of GDPMarshall Islands9.9Namibia: 9.3 % of GDPNamibia9.3Cuba: 9 % of GDPCuba9Botswana: 8.4 % of GDPBotswana8.4Bolivia: 8.1 % of GDPBolivia8.1Norway: 7.9 % of GDPNorway7.9Sweden: 7.7 % of GDPSweden7.7Iceland: 7.6 % of GDPIceland7.6Denmark: 7.3 % of GDPDenmark7.3Suriname: 6.8 % of GDPSuriname6.8Costa Rica: 6.7 % of GDPCosta Rica6.7Kuwait: 6.7 % of GDPKuwait6.7Finland: 6.5 % of GDPFinland6.5Belgium: 6.3 % of GDPBelgium6.3Uzbekistan: 6.3 % of GDPUzbekistan6.3Moldova: 6.2 % of GDPMoldova6.2Tunisia: 6.2 % of GDPTunisia6.2São Tomé and Príncipe: 6.1 % of GDPSão Tomé and Príncipe6.1Israel: 6.1 % of GDPIsrael6.1Mozambique: 6 % of GDPMozambique6Honduras: 6 % of GDPHonduras6Belize: 6 % of GDPBelize6Brazil: 6 % of GDPBrazil6South Africa: 5.9 % of GDPSouth Africa5.9Curaçao: 5.8 % of GDPCuraçao5.8Nauru: 5.7 % of GDPNauru5.7Eswatini: 5.7 % of GDPEswatini5.7Chile: 5.6 % of GDPChile5.6Algeria: 5.6 % of GDPAlgeria5.6Tajikistan: 5.5 % of GDPTajikistan5.5Burkina Faso: 5.5 % of GDPBurkina Faso5.5Ukraine: 5.4 % of GDPUkraine5.4Kenya: 5.4 % of GDPKenya5.4France: 5.4 % of GDPFrance5.4Burundi: 5.3 % of GDPBurundi5.3United Kingdom: 5.3 % of GDPUnited Kingdom5.3Austria: 5.2 % of GDPAustria5.2New Zealand: 5.2 % of GDPNew Zealand5.2Kiribati: 14.5 % of GDPKiribati14.5Micronesia: 10.7 % of GDPMicronesia10.7Marshall Islands: 9.9 % of GDPMarshall Islands9.9Namibia: 9.3 % of GDPNamibia9.3Cuba: 9 % of GDPCuba9Botswana: 8.4 % of GDPBotswana8.4Bolivia: 8.1 % of GDPBolivia8.1Norway: 7.9 % of GDPNorway7.9Sweden: 7.7 % of GDPSweden7.7Iceland: 7.6 % of GDPIceland7.6Denmark: 7.3 % of GDPDenmark7.3Suriname: 6.8 % of GDPSuriname6.8Costa Rica: 6.7 % of GDPCosta Rica6.7Kuwait: 6.7 % of GDPKuwait6.7Finland: 6.5 % of GDPFinland6.5Belgium: 6.3 % of GDPBelgium6.3Uzbekistan: 6.3 % of GDPUzbekistan6.3Moldova: 6.2 % of GDPMoldova6.2Tunisia: 6.2 % of GDPTunisia6.2São Tomé and Príncipe: 6.1 % of GDPSão Tomé and Príncipe6.1Israel: 6.1 % of GDPIsrael6.1Mozambique: 6 % of GDPMozambique6Honduras: 6 % of GDPHonduras6Belize: 6 % of GDPBelize6Brazil: 6 % of GDPBrazil6South Africa: 5.9 % of GDPSouth Africa5.9Curaçao: 5.8 % of GDPCuraçao5.8Nauru: 5.7 % of GDPNauru5.7Eswatini: 5.7 % of GDPEswatini5.7Chile: 5.6 % of GDPChile5.6Algeria: 5.6 % of GDPAlgeria5.6Tajikistan: 5.5 % of GDPTajikistan5.5Burkina Faso: 5.5 % of GDPBurkina Faso5.5Ukraine: 5.4 % of GDPUkraine5.4Kenya: 5.4 % of GDPKenya5.4France: 5.4 % of GDPFrance5.4Burundi: 5.3 % of GDPBurundi5.3United Kingdom: 5.3 % of GDPUnited Kingdom5.3Austria: 5.2 % of GDPAustria5.2New Zealand: 5.2 % of GDPNew Zealand5.2
% of GDP. Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Government expenditure on education, total, % of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS) via World Bank, World Development Indicators. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCountries2019
% of GDP		Change on 2018
1Kiribati14.5+1.6 pts
2Micronesia10.7+0.8 pts
3Marshall Islands9.9n/a
4Namibia9.3+0.4 pts
5Cuba9+1 pts
6Botswana8.4+0.5 pts
7Bolivia8.1+0.1 pts
8Norway7.9+0.3 pts
9Sweden7.7-0 pts
10Iceland7.60 pts
11Denmark7.3-0.1 pts
12Suriname6.8+1.9 pts
13Costa Rica6.7-0 pts
14Kuwait6.7+0.3 pts
15Finland6.5+0.1 pts
16Belgium6.3-0.1 pts
17Uzbekistan6.3+1.5 pts
18Moldova6.2+0.7 pts
19Tunisia6.2n/a
20São Tomé and Príncipe6.1+0.5 pts
21Israel6.1-0 pts
22Mozambique6+0.6 pts
23Honduras6-0.1 pts
24Belize6-0.2 pts
25Brazil6-0.1 pts
26South Africa5.9+0.3 pts
27Curaçao5.8-0.1 pts
28Nauru5.7+0.7 pts
29Eswatini5.7-0 pts
30Chile5.6+0.2 pts
31Algeria5.6-0.2 pts
32Tajikistan5.5+0.1 pts
33Burkina Faso5.5-0 pts
34Ukraine5.4+0.1 pts
35Kenya5.4+0.3 pts
36France5.4-0.1 pts
37Burundi5.3+0.3 pts
38United Kingdom5.3+0.1 pts
39Austria5.2-0 pts
40New Zealand5.2-0 pts
41Estonia5.20 pts
42Jamaica5.2-0.3 pts
43Cyprus5.2n/a
44Fiji5.2+0.4 pts
45Kyrgyzstan5.1-0.5 pts
46Oman5.1+0.5 pts
47Netherlands5.1-0.2 pts
48Senegal5-0.1 pts
49Germany5+0.1 pts
50Switzerland5+0.1 pts
51Morocco50 pts
52Belarus5+0.1 pts
53United States5+0.1 pts
54Slovenia4.9-0 pts
55Dominica4.9-0.3 pts
56Tonga4.9+0.1 pts
57Malta4.8n/a
58Canada4.8-0.1 pts
59Argentina4.8-0.1 pts
60Sierra Leone4.7+0.2 pts
61Uruguay4.60 pts
62Portugal4.6-0.1 pts
63Poland4.6+0.1 pts
64Nicaragua4.6+0.1 pts
65Latvia4.6+0.2 pts
66Samoa4.6+0.1 pts
67Mauritius4.5-0.1 pts
68Colombia4.5+0.1 pts
69Bhutan4.5-2 pts
70Ethiopia4.5-0.7 pts
71Czechia4.5+0.3 pts
72Türkiye4.4+0.2 pts
73Aruba4.4-0.1 pts
74Zambia4.4-0.3 pts
75South Korea4.4+0.2 pts
76Slovakia4.3+0.3 pts
77Ecuador4.2-0.4 pts
78Bulgaria4.2+0.2 pts
79Spain4.2+0.1 pts
80Togo4.2+0.1 pts
81Hungary4.2-0.4 pts
82Timor-Leste4.2-2.7 pts
83Cape Verde4.2-0.6 pts
84Malaysia4.2-0.3 pts
85Maldives4.1+0.3 pts
86Italy4.1-0.2 pts
87Bosnia and Herzegovina4+0.2 pts
88Dominican Republic4+0.1 pts
89Croatia3.90 pts
90Lithuania3.9+0.1 pts
91India3.9-0.5 pts
92Nepal3.9-0.5 pts
93Albania3.9+0.8 pts
94United Arab Emirates3.9n/a
95Georgia3.8+0.4 pts
96Peru3.8+0.1 pts
97Hong Kong3.8+0.5 pts
98Luxembourg3.7+0.1 pts
99Barbados3.7-1.7 pts
100Russia3.7-1 pts
101Tanzania3.6-0.1 pts
102Seychelles3.6-0 pts
103Romania3.6+0.2 pts
104Trinidad and Tobago3.6+0.1 pts
105Greece3.6-0 pts
106Niger3.5+0.1 pts
107Paraguay3.5+0.2 pts
108Serbia3.50 pts
109Côte d’Ivoire3.4+0.2 pts
110Philippines3.4-0.4 pts
111El Salvador3.4-0.2 pts
112San Marino3.4-0.2 pts
113Antigua and Barbuda3.4+1.1 pts
114Puerto Rico3.3+0.7 pts
115Panama3.3-0.2 pts
116Saint Lucia3.3-0.1 pts
117Republic of the Congo3.2+0.5 pts
118Iran3.2-0.4 pts
119Rwanda3.2+0.2 pts
120Ireland3.2-0.1 pts
121Guatemala3.2+0.1 pts
122Azerbaijan3.2+0.7 pts
123Japan3.2+0.1 pts
124Ghana3.2-0.7 pts
125Andorra3.2-0.1 pts
126Turkmenistan3.1n/a
127Vietnam3.1-0.2 pts
128Macao3.1+0.3 pts
129Cameroon30 pts
130Thailand3-0.2 pts
131Madagascar3+0.2 pts
132Mali30 pts
133Jordan30 pts
134Gabon2.9-0.2 pts
135Kazakhstan2.9+0.2 pts
136Gambia2.8+0.4 pts
137Qatar2.8n/a
138Benin2.7-0.2 pts
139Saint Kitts and Nevis2.7-0.3 pts
140Singapore2.7-0.1 pts
141Bahamas2.6+0.1 pts
142Lebanon2.5-0.1 pts
143British Virgin Islands2.5+0.1 pts
144Chad2.4+0.1 pts
145Uganda2.3+0.2 pts
146Pakistan2.2-0.1 pts
147Liberia2.2-0.3 pts
148Armenia2.20 pts
149Cambodia2.1+0.5 pts
150Laos2.1-0.2 pts
151Turks and Caicos Islands2.1-0.6 pts
152Bahrain2.1-0.3 pts
153Angola2.1-0.1 pts
154Myanmar20 pts
155Bermuda1.9-0 pts
156Guinea1.9-0.5 pts
157Mauritania1.8n/a
158Vanuatu1.8-6.8 pts
159Central African Republic1.8+0.2 pts
160Monaco1.2n/a
161Cayman Islands1.1-1 pts
162Bangladesh1.1-1 pts
163Haiti1.1-0.6 pts
164Indonesia1-0 pts
165Papua New Guinea0.8-1.1 pts
166Nigeria0.4-0.1 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

General government expenditure on education at all levels (current, capital and transfers), as a percentage of GDP. Includes spending funded by international transfers to government. UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Government spending only: fees and other money paid by households and private bodies are left out, so countries where families pay a large share show lower values. For some countries UIS takes the figure from government budget documents, so a recent year can be revised when final accounts come in. Countries only; UIS publishes no World figure.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the countries are compared on one definition. 37 countries with data in other periods have no value for 2019 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). Government expenditure on education, total, % of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS). Retrieved through World Bank World Development Indicators (data.worldbank.org). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-12. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. UIS does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.

Citation styles

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APA 7

UNESCO Institute for Statistics. (2026). Government expenditure on education, total, % of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS) (Countries by government spending on education, share of GDP, 2019) [Data set]. World Bank, World Development Indicators. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS

MLA 9

Government expenditure on education, total, % of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS), Countries by government spending on education, share of GDP, 2019. UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 8 Oct. 2026, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS. World Bank, World Development Indicators, https://data.worldbank.org. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/education-spending-gdp/countries?period=2019. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

UNESCO Institute for Statistics. 2026. Government expenditure on education, total, % of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS). Countries by government spending on education, share of GDP, 2019. Dataset. Distributed by World Bank, World Development Indicators. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/education-spending-gdp/countries?period=2019.

Harvard

UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) Government expenditure on education, total, % of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS), Countries by government spending on education, share of GDP, 2019 [Dataset]. Via World Bank, World Development Indicators. Available at: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/education-spending-gdp/countries?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{unesco_countries_by_government_spending_2019,
  author = {{UNESCO Institute for Statistics}},
  title = {{Government expenditure on education, total, \% of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS): Countries by government spending on education, share of GDP, 2019}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  publisher = {World Bank, World Development Indicators},
  url = {https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Retrieved through World Bank, World Development Indicators (https://data.worldbank.org). Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/education-spending-gdp/countries?period=2019. Publisher attribution: Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). Government expenditure on education, total, \% of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS). Retrieved through World Bank World Development Indicators (data.worldbank.org). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-12. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. UIS does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - UNESCO Institute for Statistics
TI  - Government expenditure on education, total, % of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS): Countries by government spending on education, share of GDP, 2019
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/08
PB  - World Bank, World Development Indicators
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/education-spending-gdp/countries?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Retrieved through World Bank, World Development Indicators (https://data.worldbank.org).
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/education-spending-gdp/countries?period=2019.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). Government expenditure on education, total, % of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS). Retrieved through World Bank World Development Indicators (data.worldbank.org). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-12. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. UIS does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.
ER  -
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Questions

Which country has the highest government spending on education, share of GDP?

Kiribati, with 14.5% of GDP in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Which country has the lowest government spending on education, share of GDP?

Nigeria, with 0.4% of GDP in 2019.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Government expenditure on education, total, % of GDP (SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS). Retrieved 2026-10-12. 37 countries have no value for 2019 and are not ranked.

Government spending on education, share of GDP: other rankings

Countries: more rankings