Government spending on education as a share of GDP is one of the most widely used ways to compare the scale of public education financing across countries. World Bank World Development Indicators series SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS measures general government current, capital and transfer expenditure on education as a percentage of gross domestic product. The latest-observation table used here contains 203 countries and separately reported areas, with values ranging from almost zero to more than 16% of GDP.
The most important qualification is the reference year. These 203 rows are not observations from a single year. Their latest available dates range from 1989 to 2025, and only Burundi and the Philippines have 2025 observations. The largest group is 2023 with 82 rows, followed by 2022 with 48 and 2024 with 39. The map should therefore be read as a latest-available snapshot, not as a 2025 global ranking of education spending.
Table of Contents
The indicator measures education spending relative to the size of the economy
The World Bank metadata defines the series as general government current, capital and transfer expenditure on education expressed as a percentage of GDP. Spending financed by transfers from international sources to government can be included. General government normally covers central, regional and local government. The underlying education-finance source is the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS).
A value of 5% means that recorded government education expenditure in that observation year was equivalent to about 5% of the country’s GDP. Because the denominator is the size of the economy rather than population or the government budget, the ratio makes countries of very different economic scale easier to compare. It does not mean that 5% of the government budget was spent on education.
For the share of total government expenditure devoted to education, the World Bank provides a different indicator, SE.XPD.TOTL.GB.ZS. The two measures can move differently because their denominators differ. A high education-spending-to-GDP ratio also does not automatically imply high learning outcomes, high attainment, or efficient use of public funds.
184 of the 203 latest observations are dated 2020 or later
The reference years in the full latest-value table run from 1989 through 2025. Restricting attention to observations dated 2020 or later leaves 184 countries and areas, or 90.6% of the full set. That recent group consists of 4 observations from 2020, 9 from 2021, 48 from 2022, 82 from 2023, 39 from 2024 and 2 from 2025. Nineteen latest observations predate 2020.
Several of the older rows are much too dated to be treated as current measurements. Iraq’s latest row in this table is from 1989, Equatorial Guinea’s from 1998 and Libya’s from 1999. Venezuela, Sudan and the Syrian Arab Republic have 2009 values. These rows can still be shown as the latest available observations for those countries, but ranking them to a decimal point against countries with 2022–2024 data would create false precision.
Among recent 2020–2025 observations, the median is 4.17% of GDP
Across the 184 latest observations dated 2020–2025, the country-equal median is 4.17% and the simple mean is 4.36%. The 25th percentile is 3.09% and the 75th percentile is 5.31%, so the middle half of recent country observations lies roughly between 3.1% and 5.3% of GDP. These are unweighted descriptive statistics: they do not weight countries by GDP, population or the number of students and therefore are not a global education-spending rate.
There are 17 observations below 2%, 26 from 2% to under 3%, 40 from 3% to under 4%, 38 from 4% to under 5%, 36 from 5% to under 6%, and 27 at 6% or more. Rather than clustering around one narrow level, recent observations spread broadly across the 3–6% range. The ratio can be affected by the age structure of the population, the scope of public education, teacher compensation, higher-education financing, the role of subnational government, the size of GDP and economic cycles.
High recent ratios include several Pacific island states as well as African and European countries
Among observations dated 2020 or later, Kiribati is at 16.39% in 2023, Tuvalu 12.85% in 2023, the Federated States of Micronesia 11.56% in 2020, Namibia 9.08% in 2024, Algeria 8.98% in 2024, Cuba 8.44% in 2022, Solomon Islands 8.29% in 2023 and Botswana 8.06% in 2020. The Marshall Islands reports 7.70% in 2022 and Vanuatu 7.64% in 2024.
| Country / area | Year | Government education spending / GDP |
|---|---|---|
| Kiribati | 2023 | 16.39% |
| Tuvalu | 2023 | 12.85% |
| Micronesia, Fed. Sts. | 2020 | 11.56% |
| Namibia | 2024 | 9.08% |
| Algeria | 2024 | 8.98% |
| Cuba | 2022 | 8.44% |
| Solomon Islands | 2023 | 8.29% |
| Botswana | 2020 | 8.06% |
| Marshall Islands | 2022 | 7.70% |
| Vanuatu | 2024 | 7.64% |
The concentration of several small Pacific economies near the top is a reminder that this is a ratio to GDP, not a measure of total dollars spent. A small economy can devote a large fraction of GDP to public education while spending far fewer absolute dollars than a large economy. Conversely, a low ratio does not prove that the absolute education budget is small. Spending per student and education as a share of total government expenditure answer different questions.
Korea and other major economies range from roughly 1% to above 7% in their latest observations
Selected large economies show a wide range. The Republic of Korea records 5.41% in 2022, the United States 5.42% in 2021, France 5.32% in 2022, Germany 5.24% in 2022, Brazil 5.62% in 2022 and South Africa 6.02% in 2024. China is at 3.90% in 2023, Japan 3.34% in 2021, India 4.10% in 2022 and Indonesia 1.28% in 2023. Sweden’s 2022 value is 7.32%.
| Country | Year | Education spending as % of GDP |
|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 2022 | 7.32% |
| South Africa | 2024 | 6.02% |
| Brazil | 2022 | 5.62% |
| United States | 2021 | 5.42% |
| Korea, Rep. | 2022 | 5.41% |
| France | 2022 | 5.32% |
| Germany | 2022 | 5.24% |
| India | 2022 | 4.10% |
| China | 2023 | 3.90% |
| Japan | 2021 | 3.34% |
| Indonesia | 2023 | 1.28% |
| Nigeria | 2023 | 0.32% |
The year column is as important as the percentage. Differences of a few tenths of a percentage point should not be interpreted as a precise league table when the observations come from different years. The denominator can also change with economic growth, recession, national-accounts revisions and other movements in GDP even when the education budget itself changes less.
Very low and extreme values require a check of coverage and reporting
Among recent rows, Nigeria reports 0.32% in 2023, Zimbabwe 0.38%, Papua New Guinea 0.78%, Haiti 0.96%, Lebanon 1.22% in 2024, Lao PDR 1.23% in 2023 and Indonesia 1.28%. Somalia’s 2023 observation is approximately 0.000008%, an extreme outlier compared with the rest of the table. Such values should not automatically be translated into claims that virtually no education activity occurred; they warrant a closer look at the coverage and reporting of public-finance data for that country and year.
World Bank metadata notes that, in some cases, the reported figure may refer to spending by the ministry of education and may exclude educational activities financed by other ministries. Government-sector coverage and accounting practices can also differ. The map is useful for identifying large cross-country differences, but extreme or old observations deserve country-specific source checks before they are used for policy conclusions.
Geographic patterns are descriptive, not causal evidence
The latest-value map shows relatively high bands across parts of northern Europe, southern Africa and several Pacific island states, while lower bands appear in parts of South and Southeast Asia and in some countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Variation within regions is often large. In southern Africa, for example, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa are comparatively high in their latest observations while Zimbabwe is extremely low.
A map cannot by itself establish why those differences exist. Student population, compulsory-schooling coverage, teacher pay, private-sector participation, tertiary funding, fiscal decentralization, economic structure, conflict and fiscal crises can all matter. To evaluate outcomes, this spending indicator should be read alongside enrollment, attainment, learning outcomes, teacher-student ratios and other measures rather than being treated as an education-quality score.
Data source and calculation notes
The country observations come from World Bank World Development Indicators series SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS. The official definition and source notes are available in the World Bank metadata glossary. The analysis uses one latest available non-empty observation for each of 203 reporting countries and areas, with reference years ranging from 1989 to 2025.
Country codes were joined to a low-resolution world boundary layer for the maps. Of the 203 statistical observations, 164 match visible country polygons in that boundary set. Small island states and separately reported territories can be present in the statistics without a clear standalone polygon at world scale. A gray or unfilled area therefore must not be interpreted as a zero value.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a 2025 ranking of education spending by country?
No. The map uses each country or area’s latest available observation, with reference years ranging from 1989 to 2025. Only two rows are dated 2025.
Does 5% of GDP mean 5% of the government budget goes to education?
No. GDP is the denominator. Education as a share of total government expenditure is a different World Bank indicator, SE.XPD.TOTL.GB.ZS.
Does a higher education-spending ratio mean better education outcomes?
Not necessarily. The indicator measures the scale of recorded public education spending relative to GDP, not learning quality, attainment, efficiency, enrollment or test performance.
Do gray countries on the map have zero education spending?
No. Small islands and separately reported territories may lack a visible polygon in the low-resolution world boundary layer, and some areas may lack a retained observation. Gray does not mean zero.
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Education spending and educational attainment answer different questions. These related maps show accumulated adult attainment rather than public expenditure.
- Lower-Secondary-or-Higher Attainment Map – Latest Values for Adults 25+
- Global Upper-Secondary Attainment Map – Adults 25+ by Country
- Bachelor’s-or-Higher Educational Attainment by Country – Global Map
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