Skip to main content

Government expenditure on education as percentage of GDP (2024)

27/237 countries
Global3.3%of GDPYear-over-year+0.78%5-year change+0.92%
1970
2024
2024

Rankings at a glance

Top 10 · Government expenditure on education as percentage of GDP (2024)

With 9.08% of GDP in 2024, Namibia leads the world in government expenditure on education as percentage of GDP, followed by Lesotho (6.62% of GDP) and Kuwait (6.44% of GDP). The top 5 is rounded off by Eswatini (6.03% of GDP) and South Africa (6.02% of GDP). Further down, Jamaica (5.51% of GDP) and Samoa (5.46% of GDP) hold the next two spots. Curaçao (5.44% of GDP), Dominica (5.39% of GDP), and Rwanda (4.69% of GDP) round out the top ten. Across the top ten, Namibia is 1.9× as high as Rwanda (4.69% of GDP). Five of the top ten are in Africa, with four from Southern Africa. Among these countries, Kuwait saw the largest year-over-year change at +28.0%.

Rank changes

How government expenditure on education as percentage of GDP changed between two years

andSelect a second year

Pin two years to compare

Scrub the slider above to a year, then tap the dashed slot to pin it. Pin a second year to see rank changes visualised.

Examples: 1970 → 2024, 2014 → 2024

All countries

Frequently asked questions

Which country has the lowest government expenditure on education as percentage of GDP?
Lebanon has the lowest government expenditure on education as percentage of GDP at 1.2% of GDP as of 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Which country has the highest government expenditure on education as percentage of GDP?
Namibia has the highest government expenditure on education as percentage of GDP at 9.1% of GDP as of 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the global government expenditure on education as percentage of GDP?
Weighted by population, the global government expenditure on education as percentage of GDP is 3.3% of GDP as of 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics · Updated