Countries by government spending on education, share of government spending, 2022

Sierra Leone had the highest government spending on education, share of government spending of 156 countries in 2022, at 29.4%. Somalia had the lowest, at 2.8%. The median was 12.7%. Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Highest29.4Sierra Leone
Lowest2.8Somalia
Median12.7156 countries

Top 40 countries, 2022

Sierra Leone: 29.4 %Sierra Leone29.4Turkmenistan: 28.7 %Turkmenistan28.7Solomon Islands: 25.8 %Solomon Islands25.8Namibia: 24.7 %Namibia24.7Paraguay: 24.1 %Paraguay24.1Morocco: 23.9 %Morocco23.9Kyrgyzstan: 23.5 %Kyrgyzstan23.5Ethiopia: 23 %Ethiopia23Sint Maarten: 22.6 %Sint Maarten22.6Guatemala: 22.5 %Guatemala22.5Bhutan: 22.1 %Bhutan22.1Burkina Faso: 22 %Burkina Faso22Uzbekistan: 21.9 %Uzbekistan21.9Costa Rica: 21.6 %Costa Rica21.6Bolivia: 21 %Bolivia21Vanuatu: 20.9 %Vanuatu20.9Burundi: 20.6 %Burundi20.6Malaysia: 20.1 %Malaysia20.1Kazakhstan: 20.1 %Kazakhstan20.1Tunisia: 20 %Tunisia20Dominican Republic: 19.3 %Dominican Republic19.3Kiribati: 18.9 %Kiribati18.9South Africa: 18.9 %South Africa18.9Iran: 18.8 %Iran18.8Nicaragua: 18.5 %Nicaragua18.5Chile: 18.4 %Chile18.4Tajikistan: 18.3 %Tajikistan18.3Mali: 18.2 %Mali18.2Belize: 17.8 %Belize17.8Gambia: 17.1 %Gambia17.1São Tomé and Príncipe: 17.1 %São Tomé and Príncipe17.1Cuba: 17 %Cuba17Jamaica: 16.9 %Jamaica16.9Saint Lucia: 16.9 %Saint Lucia16.9Chad: 16.7 %Chad16.7Moldova: 16.7 %Moldova16.7Eswatini: 16.6 %Eswatini16.6Senegal: 16.5 %Senegal16.5Peru: 16.5 %Peru16.5Puerto Rico: 16.4 %Puerto Rico16.4
%. Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Government expenditure on education, total, % of government expenditure (SE.XPD.TOTL.GB.ZS) via World Bank, World Development Indicators. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCountries2022 (%)Change on 2021
1Sierra Leone29.4-4.1 pts
2Turkmenistan28.7-0.4 pts
3Solomon Islands25.8-0.2 pts
4Namibia24.7-0.4 pts
5Paraguay24.1+0.4 pts
6Morocco23.9+0.1 pts
7Kyrgyzstan23.5+7.4 pts
8Ethiopia23-0.6 pts
9Sint Maarten22.6n/a
10Guatemala22.5-0.5 pts
11Bhutan22.1+5.2 pts
12Burkina Faso22+0.6 pts
13Uzbekistan21.9+6.8 pts
14Costa Rica21.6-9.6 pts
15Bolivia21-1.9 pts
16Vanuatu20.9+0.9 pts
17Burundi20.6+0.2 pts
18Malaysia20.1-0.3 pts
19Kazakhstan20.1+0.2 pts
20Tunisia20+0.2 pts
21Dominican Republic19.3-0.3 pts
22Kiribati18.9-0.4 pts
23South Africa18.9-0 pts
24Iran18.8n/a
25Nicaragua18.5-0 pts
26Chile18.4+3.5 pts
27Tajikistan18.3+3.3 pts
28Mali18.2+2 pts
29Belize17.8-0.1 pts
30Gambia17.1+1.5 pts
31São Tomé and Príncipe17.1+0.5 pts
32Cuba17+1 pts
33Jamaica16.9-0.5 pts
34Saint Lucia16.9+2.4 pts
35Chad16.7+1.3 pts
36Moldova16.7-0.1 pts
37Eswatini16.6+1.3 pts
38Senegal16.5-0.2 pts
39Peru16.5-0.2 pts
40Puerto Rico16.4+2.3 pts
41Kenya16.1-1.2 pts
42Israel16.1+0.7 pts
43Côte d’Ivoire15.9-0.4 pts
44Panama15.8+0.2 pts
45Mauritius15.7+1.4 pts
46Philippines15.7-1 pts
47Cape Verde15.7+0.6 pts
48Iceland15.7-0.9 pts
49Republic of the Congo15.5-1.1 pts
50Vietnam15.4+0.6 pts
51Switzerland15.4+0.8 pts
52Sweden15.3-0.3 pts
53Saint Vincent and the Grenadines15.2n/a
54Singapore15.1+3.7 pts
55Benin15+0.2 pts
56Uruguay14.9+0.2 pts
57Thailand14.6-0.1 pts
58Togo14.5-3 pts
59Norway14.5-0.6 pts
60Hong Kong14.4+1.3 pts
61Tanzania14.3+0.8 pts
62Mexico14.2-1.6 pts
63Oman14.2n/a
64Denmark14.2+0.1 pts
65India14.2-0.8 pts
66North Korea13.9+1.1 pts
67Gabon13.8-1.6 pts
68Samoa13.6-1.8 pts
69San Marino13.4+5 pts
70Ghana13.2+1 pts
71Georgia13.2+1.6 pts
72Haiti13.1-3 pts
73Algeria13.1-2.9 pts
74Estonia13+0.6 pts
75Brazil12.9-0.7 pts
76Tuvalu12.9-0.3 pts
77Cameroon12.8-2.3 pts
78Rwanda12.8-2.8 pts
79Barbados12.7-2.1 pts
80Argentina12.7+0.4 pts
81Fiji12.6-0.9 pts
82Australia12.6+0.5 pts
83New Zealand12.6-0.8 pts
84Malta12.50 pts
85Cyprus12.5+0.6 pts
86Nepal12.4-2 pts
87Bangladesh12.4-0.4 pts
88Niger12.4+0.4 pts
89Macao12.3-2.4 pts
90Kuwait12.3+0.3 pts
91British Virgin Islands12.2+1.4 pts
92Belarus12.2-0.6 pts
93Finland12.1+0.2 pts
94Belgium12+0.4 pts
95Bulgaria12-0.3 pts
96Netherlands12+0.3 pts
97Guinea11.9+0.4 pts
98Curaçao11.9-2.4 pts
99Turks and Caicos Islands11.9+0.6 pts
100Lithuania11.7+0.4 pts
101Cambodia11.7+2.3 pts
102Azerbaijan11.6+0.1 pts
103El Salvador11.4-0.1 pts
104Marshall Islands11.3-11.5 pts
105Türkiye11.30 pts
106Slovenia11.1+0.3 pts
107Maldives11.1+1 pts
108Suriname11-0.8 pts
109Slovakia10.8+0.3 pts
110Central African Republic10.7+1.7 pts
111Germany10.7+0.1 pts
112Canada10.7+1.6 pts
113Seychelles10.6+0.2 pts
114Comoros10.5+0.2 pts
115Trinidad and Tobago10.4+0.4 pts
116Portugal10.4+0.3 pts
117Bahamas10.4-0.3 pts
118Palau10.2+1.2 pts
119Czechia10-0.3 pts
120Poland10-0.6 pts
121Austria10+0.2 pts
122Latvia9.9-0.8 pts
123Spain9.9+0.2 pts
124Grenada9.9-0.2 pts
125Laos9.8-1.7 pts
126Tonga9.8-0.4 pts
127Jordan9.5+0.3 pts
128Armenia9.4-0.2 pts
129Pakistan9.4+1.6 pts
130Dominica9.4+1.6 pts
131Ecuador9.3-0.5 pts
132France9.10 pts
133Albania9-0.4 pts
134Lebanon8.9n/a
135Romania8.8-0.2 pts
136Indonesia8.7-0.3 pts
137Uganda8.5+0.3 pts
138Luxembourg8.5-0.2 pts
139Gibraltar7.8+0.7 pts
140Antigua and Barbuda7.8+0.9 pts
141Hungary7.8-1.9 pts
142Saint Kitts and Nevis7.7+1 pts
143Bahrain7.7-0 pts
144Mongolia7.5-0.9 pts
145Serbia7.4+0.4 pts
146Italy7.4-0 pts
147Andorra7-3.3 pts
148Angola6.6-0.3 pts
149Greece6.4n/a
150Sri Lanka5.3+0.3 pts
151Mauritania4.8-4.3 pts
152Monaco4.8-1.1 pts
153Nigeria4.3-0.8 pts
154Nauru4.2+0.4 pts
155Papua New Guinea2.9-0.3 pts
156Somalia2.8-0.9 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

General government expenditure on education as a percentage of total general government expenditure on all sectors. Calculated and published by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

A share of the government budget, not of GDP; for that see education_expenditure_gdp. UIS divides by total government spending from IMF figures or, for some countries, from government budget documents, so a recent year can be revised. 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. 44 countries with data in other periods have no value for 2022 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 government expenditure (SE.XPD.TOTL.GB.ZS). Retrieved through World Bank World Development Indicators (data.worldbank.org). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.TOTL.GB.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-12. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. UIS does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.

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Questions

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

Sierra Leone, with 29.4% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

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

Somalia, with 2.8% in 2022.

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 government expenditure (SE.XPD.TOTL.GB.ZS). Retrieved 2026-10-12. 44 countries have no value for 2022 and are not ranked.

Government spending on education, share of government spending: other rankings

Countries: more rankings