Countries by government spending on education, share of government spending

Zimbabwe had the highest government spending on education, share of government spending of 154 countries in 2014, at 30%. South Sudan had the lowest, at 4.1%. The median was 14.4%. Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Highest30Zimbabwe
Lowest4.1South Sudan
Median14.4154 countries

Top 40 countries, 2014

Zimbabwe: 30 %Zimbabwe30Marshall Islands: 27.4 %Marshall Islands27.4Honduras: 26.9 %Honduras26.9Ethiopia: 25.9 %Ethiopia25.9Senegal: 24.8 %Senegal24.8Eswatini: 24.8 %Eswatini24.8Namibia: 24 %Namibia24Burundi: 23.8 %Burundi23.8Costa Rica: 23.1 %Costa Rica23.1Nicaragua: 23 %Nicaragua23Uzbekistan: 23 %Uzbekistan23Botswana: 22.7 %Botswana22.7Benin: 22.2 %Benin22.2Vanuatu: 22.2 %Vanuatu22.2Micronesia: 22.1 %Micronesia22.1Morocco: 22.1 %Morocco22.1Guatemala: 22 %Guatemala22Jamaica: 21.8 %Jamaica21.8Côte d’Ivoire: 21.8 %Côte d’Ivoire21.8Niger: 21.7 %Niger21.7Belize: 21.6 %Belize21.6Dominican Republic: 21.5 %Dominican Republic21.5Kiribati: 21.3 %Kiribati21.3Ghana: 21 %Ghana21Mauritius: 20.9 %Mauritius20.9Thailand: 20.5 %Thailand20.5Singapore: 20.5 %Singapore20.5Zambia: 20.2 %Zambia20.2Chile: 19.9 %Chile19.9Malaysia: 19.8 %Malaysia19.8Iran: 19.7 %Iran19.7Aruba: 19.6 %Aruba19.6Burkina Faso: 19.4 %Burkina Faso19.4South Africa: 19 %South Africa19Madagascar: 19 %Madagascar19Comoros: 18.9 %Comoros18.9Guyana: 18.9 %Guyana18.9Mexico: 18.8 %Mexico18.8Moldova: 18.8 %Moldova18.8Nepal: 18.3 %Nepal18.3
%. 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

RankCountries2014 (%)Change on 2013
1Zimbabwe30+1.4 pts
2Marshall Islands27.4+1.3 pts
3Honduras26.9+5.9 pts
4Ethiopia25.9-1.1 pts
5Senegal24.8-0.9 pts
6Eswatini24.8+7.6 pts
7Namibia24-0.1 pts
8Burundi23.8+6.6 pts
9Costa Rica23.1+0.3 pts
10Nicaragua23n/a
11Uzbekistan23+0.2 pts
12Botswana22.7+1.7 pts
13Benin22.2-0.1 pts
14Vanuatu22.2n/a
15Micronesia22.1+1.7 pts
16Morocco22.1n/a
17Guatemala22+1.3 pts
18Jamaica21.8+1.2 pts
19Côte d’Ivoire21.8+0.2 pts
20Niger21.7+3.6 pts
21Belize21.6-1.6 pts
22Dominican Republic21.5-0.2 pts
23Kiribati21.3-2.8 pts
24Ghana21-0.2 pts
25Mauritius20.9+6.1 pts
26Thailand20.5+1.4 pts
27Singapore20.5-8.4 pts
28Zambia20.2+2.7 pts
29Chile19.9+0.2 pts
30Malaysia19.8+0.3 pts
31Iran19.7-2 pts
32Aruba19.6-2.3 pts
33Burkina Faso19.4+3.2 pts
34South Africa19+0.3 pts
35Madagascar19+5 pts
36Comoros18.9+2.8 pts
37Guyana18.9n/a
38Mexico18.8+1.9 pts
39Moldova18.8+0.5 pts
40Nepal18.3+0.7 pts
41Mali18.2+1.6 pts
42Bolivia18.1-1.1 pts
43Curaçao18.1-0.3 pts
44Indonesia17.9+0.1 pts
45Kenya17.8-0.9 pts
46Tajikistan17.8+0.4 pts
47Hong Kong17.6-2.7 pts
48Bhutan17.5+1.8 pts
49Barbados17.5+2.6 pts
50Mozambique17.4-1.6 pts
51Malta17.3-1.2 pts
52Tanzania17.3-1.8 pts
53Norway16.9-0.2 pts
54Vietnam16.8-1.7 pts
55Iceland16.7+0.5 pts
56Malawi16.6-3.9 pts
57Algeria16.5-1.2 pts
58Cape Verde16.3+1.5 pts
59Peru16.2+1 pts
60Fiji16.2+1.9 pts
61Kazakhstan16.1-1.2 pts
62Cuba15.8-0.7 pts
63India15.7+1.7 pts
64Togo15.6+0.1 pts
65New Zealand15.5-0 pts
66Philippines15.5n/a
67Switzerland15.3+0.2 pts
68Saint Lucia15.3+1.5 pts
69Sierra Leone15.1-0.1 pts
70Sweden15+0.2 pts
71Samoa15+0.4 pts
72Israel14.9+0.3 pts
73British Virgin Islands14.7-1 pts
74Mongolia14.7-0.7 pts
75Afghanistan14.5+0.4 pts
76Uruguay14.4+0.1 pts
77Kyrgyzstan14.4-3.4 pts
78Brazil14.4-0.3 pts
79North Korea14.3-0.3 pts
80Latvia14-4.8 pts
81Denmark13.9-1.4 pts
82El Salvador13.9+0.5 pts
83Argentina13.8-0.7 pts
84Rwanda13.7-3.1 pts
85Macao13.7+1.1 pts
86Türkiye13.5+0.6 pts
87United Kingdom13.4+0.7 pts
88Democratic Republic of the Congo13.4-2.8 pts
89Panama13.3n/a
90Andorra13.3+7.1 pts
91Bangladesh13.3-0.7 pts
92Ukraine13.1-0.7 pts
93Ireland13-0.2 pts
94Cameroon12.9-0.9 pts
95Lithuania12.9-0.1 pts
96Qatar12.7-0.4 pts
97Jordan12.6-0.5 pts
98Belarus12.4+0.1 pts
99Finland12.4-0.1 pts
100Cyprus12.3-3 pts
101São Tomé and Príncipe12.3-6.5 pts
102Saint Kitts and Nevis12.2-1.1 pts
103Canada12.1+0.9 pts
104Bahamas12.1-0.1 pts
105Guinea12.1-2.1 pts
106Haiti12n/a
107Mauritania11.9+0.5 pts
108Seychelles11.8+2.3 pts
109Belgium11.80 pts
110Turks and Caicos Islands11.8-0.4 pts
111Grenada11.8n/a
112Laos11.8-1.6 pts
113Gambia11.8+1.2 pts
114Uganda11.7-0 pts
115Poland11.60 pts
116Netherlands11.60 pts
117Estonia11.5-1 pts
118Russia11.5+0.6 pts
119Ecuador11.3+0.8 pts
120Bulgaria11.3-0.1 pts
121Pakistan11.3-0.2 pts
122Gabon11.2+2.5 pts
123Albania10.9-1.2 pts
124Germany10.8+0.1 pts
125Sri Lanka10.8+1.4 pts
126Maldives10.6-1.9 pts
127Slovenia10.6+1.1 pts
128Trinidad and Tobago10.5-1.2 pts
129Austria10.5-0.2 pts
130Antigua and Barbuda10.3-0.4 pts
131Slovakia10+0.1 pts
132Brunei10n/a
133Portugal9.9-0.6 pts
134Georgia9.7+0.1 pts
135Luxembourg9.5n/a
136Spain9.5+0.1 pts
137Central African Republic9.4+1.3 pts
138Armenia9.4-1.8 pts
139Czechia9.3-0.2 pts
140Romania9.3+0.3 pts
141Hungary9.2+0.8 pts
142Nigeria9+0.4 pts
143Cambodia8.8-0.8 pts
144Bahrain8.7+1.2 pts
145Italy8-0.1 pts
146Bermuda7.8n/a
147Azerbaijan7.2+0.8 pts
148Timor-Leste6.8+0.9 pts
149Liberia6.8+1.1 pts
150Republic of the Congo6.6-8.2 pts
151Gibraltar6.2+0.9 pts
152Nauru5.6n/a
153Monaco5-2.1 pts
154South Sudan4.1+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. 46 countries with data in other periods have no value for 2014 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?

Zimbabwe, with 30% in 2014, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

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

South Sudan, with 4.1% in 2014.

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. 46 countries have no value for 2014 and are not ranked.

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

Countries: more rankings