Government expenditure on education, total (% of government expenditure) by country
General government expenditure on education (current, capital, and transfers) is expressed as a percentage of total general government expenditure on all sectors (including health, education, social services, etc.). It includes expenditure funded by transfers from international sources to government. General...
Countries reporting
193
Highest
31.9%
Mauritania
Lowest
0.0%
South Sudan
Median
12.7%
Years covered
46
1980–2025
Data points
5,722
What the numbers show
Government expenditure on education, total (% of government expenditure) is currently reported for 193 countries. The highest value is 31.9% in Mauritania; the lowest is 0.0% in South Sudan.
The median across all reporting countries is 12.7%, and the mean is 13.4%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 9,490.
Over the past decade 77 countries rose and 110 fell. The largest increase was in Somalia (up 471.8%), and the largest decrease in South Sudan (down 99.9%).
Government expenditure on education, total: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mauritania | 31.9% | 2024 | up 167.8% | volatile |
| 2 | Kenya | 28.5% | 2025 | up 64.4% | rising |
| 3 | Turkmenistan | 27.6% | 2024 | up 32.8% | rising |
| 4 | Solomon Islands | 25.2% | 2024 | down 23.8% | rising |
| 5 | Namibia | 24.6% | 2025 | up 8.9% | rising |
| 6 | Morocco | 23.3% | 2024 | up 5.5% | volatile |
| 7 | Honduras | 23.2% | 2018 | up 10.3% | rising |
| 8 | Bhutan | 22.2% | 2025 | down 12.3% | rising |
| 9 | Uzbekistan | 22.1% | 2024 | down 3.9% | falling |
| 10 | Kazakhstan | 22.0% | 2024 | up 36.5% | volatile |
| 11 | Botswana | 21.5% | 2020 | down 8.9% | rising |
| 12 | Senegal | 20.9% | 2025 | down 12.1% | rising |
| 13 | Dominican Republic | 20.9% | 2025 | down 6.4% | volatile |
| 14 | Sierra Leone | 20.5% | 2025 | up 36.2% | rising |
| 15 | Mozambique | 20.4% | 2021 | up 7.1% | rising |
| 16 | Costa Rica | 20.4% | 2023 | down 10.7% | rising |
| 17 | Burkina Faso | 20.3% | 2023 | up 25.6% | rising |
| 18 | Bolivia | 20.2% | 2024 | up 11.2% | rising |
| 19 | Kiribati | 20.1% | 2024 | down 5.6% | rising |
| 20 | Kyrgyzstan | 19.6% | 2024 | up 36.8% | rising |
| 21 | Vanuatu | 19.3% | 2024 | down 13.0% | falling |
| 22 | Tajikistan | 19.3% | 2024 | up 8.2% | rising |
| 23 | Eswatini | 19.2% | 2025 | up 17.0% | falling |
| 24 | Peru | 19.2% | 2024 | up 18.3% | rising |
| 25 | Syria | 19.2% | 2009 | up 22.5% | volatile |
| 26 | South Africa | 19.1% | 2025 | up 2.4% | volatile |
| 27 | Belize | 18.9% | 2024 | down 12.3% | rising |
| 28 | Iran | 18.8% | 2022 | up 8.2% | volatile |
| 29 | Micronesia (country) | 18.6% | 2020 | up 4.8% | rising |
| 30 | Chile | 18.4% | 2022 | up 3.6% | rising |
| 31 | Sao Tome and Principe | 18.1% | 2024 | up 46.8% | rising |
| 32 | Benin | 18.0% | 2025 | up 3.1% | flat |
| 33 | Madagascar | 18.0% | 2019 | down 20.5% | rising |
| 34 | Zimbabwe | 17.9% | 2025 | down 39.3% | falling |
| 35 | Jamaica | 17.9% | 2024 | down 18.0% | rising |
| 36 | Mali | 17.8% | 2024 | down 2.2% | rising |
| 37 | Cote d'Ivoire | 17.6% | 2024 | down 19.0% | rising |
| 38 | Tunisia | 17.3% | 2025 | down 23.8% | volatile |
| 39 | Guatemala | 17.3% | 2025 | down 28.3% | rising |
| 40 | Cuba | 17.0% | 2022 | up 2.9% | flat |
| 41 | Tuvalu | 16.8% | 2025 | up 52.6% | volatile |
| 42 | Ethiopia | 16.7% | 2024 | down 35.6% | rising |
| 43 | Chad | 16.5% | 2023 | up 32.3% | rising |
| 44 | Curacao | 16.4% | 2024 | down 8.9% | falling |
| 45 | Panama | 16.3% | 2024 | up 22.1% | volatile |
| 46 | Guinea-Bissau | 16.2% | 2013 | down 3.3% | falling |
| 47 | Israel | 16.1% | 2022 | up 14.1% | volatile |
| 48 | Malawi | 16.0% | 2024 | down 3.6% | volatile |
| 49 | Moldova | 16.0% | 2024 | down 14.9% | falling |
| 50 | Puerto Rico | 16.0% | 2025 | up 30.0% | rising |
| 51 | El Salvador | 15.9% | 2025 | up 10.2% | falling |
| 52 | Hong Kong | 15.7% | 2024 | down 10.7% | rising |
| 53 | Afghanistan | 15.7% | 2017 | down 8.3% | volatile |
| 54 | Iceland | 15.7% | 2022 | down 1.4% | rising |
| 55 | Saudi Arabia | 15.6% | 2024 | — | volatile |
| 56 | Uruguay | 15.6% | 2023 | up 8.6% | volatile |
| 57 | Algeria | 15.5% | 2025 | down 3.4% | rising |
| 58 | Ecuador | 15.5% | 2025 | up 33.7% | volatile |
| 59 | Vietnam | 15.4% | 2022 | down 17.8% | falling |
| 60 | Switzerland | 15.4% | 2022 | down 0.4% | rising |
| 61 | Sweden | 15.3% | 2022 | up 1.3% | rising |
| 62 | Philippines | 15.2% | 2025 | up 0.3% | rising |
| 63 | Congo | 14.7% | 2023 | up 0.0% | rising |
| 64 | North Korea | 14.6% | 2025 | up 3.8% | flat |
| 65 | Zambia | 14.5% | 2025 | down 13.3% | volatile |
| 66 | Djibouti | 14.5% | 2018 | down 35.7% | falling |
| 67 | Norway | 14.5% | 2022 | down 16.3% | rising |
| 68 | Russia | 14.3% | 2018 | up 19.9% | rising |
| 69 | Mexico | 14.2% | 2022 | down 21.3% | rising |
| 70 | Gambia | 14.2% | 2025 | up 28.8% | volatile |
| 71 | Mauritius | 14.2% | 2024 | down 32.1% | volatile |
| 72 | Barbados | 14.2% | 2025 | down 20.3% | falling |
| 73 | Oman | 14.2% | 2022 | up 28.0% | volatile |
| 74 | Denmark | 14.2% | 2022 | up 13.2% | rising |
| 75 | India | 14.2% | 2022 | up 1.2% | rising |
| 76 | Malaysia | 14.1% | 2023 | down 27.5% | rising |
| 77 | Rwanda | 13.9% | 2025 | up 11.1% | rising |
| 78 | Kuwait | 13.8% | 2025 | up 23.0% | volatile |
| 79 | Cameroon | 13.8% | 2024 | up 7.4% | volatile |
| 80 | Fiji | 13.8% | 2025 | down 20.7% | rising |
| 81 | Mongolia | 13.8% | 2024 | down 6.1% | falling |
| 82 | British Virgin Islands | 13.6% | 2025 | up 2.5% | falling |
| 83 | Gabon | 13.6% | 2023 | up 55.3% | rising |
| 84 | Cape Verde | 13.4% | 2024 | down 17.6% | falling |
| 85 | Tanzania | 13.4% | 2024 | down 22.5% | rising |
| 86 | Argentina | 13.2% | 2023 | down 8.5% | volatile |
| 87 | Ghana | 13.2% | 2022 | down 50.4% | rising |
| 88 | Haiti | 13.2% | 2025 | down 9.5% | volatile |
| 89 | Colombia | 13.2% | 1999 | down 23.6% | rising |
| 90 | Democratic Republic of Congo | 13.1% | 2017 | up 37.3% | volatile |
| 91 | Estonia | 13.0% | 2022 | up 9.8% | rising |
| 92 | San Marino | 13.0% | 2023 | up 22.1% | volatile |
| 93 | Brazil | 12.9% | 2022 | down 13.2% | rising |
| 94 | Niger | 12.8% | 2023 | down 29.2% | volatile |
| 95 | Saint Lucia | 12.7% | 2025 | down 22.5% | falling |
| 96 | New Zealand | 12.7% | 2023 | down 18.2% | rising |
| 97 | Ukraine | 12.7% | 2021 | down 5.8% | flat |
| 98 | Australia | 12.6% | 2022 | — | volatile |
| 99 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 12.6% | 2024 | down 26.6% | falling |
| 100 | Thailand | 12.6% | 2025 | down 38.8% | volatile |
| 101 | Trinidad and Tobago | 12.6% | 2025 | up 2.2% | rising |
| 102 | Malta | 12.5% | 2022 | down 16.6% | volatile |
| 103 | Cyprus | 12.5% | 2022 | down 19.5% | volatile |
| 104 | Belarus | 12.3% | 2024 | down 0.5% | rising |
| 105 | Ireland | 12.3% | 2021 | down 0.0% | rising |
| 106 | Macao | 12.3% | 2022 | down 45.1% | rising |
| 107 | Georgia | 12.2% | 2024 | up 26.3% | rising |
| 108 | Andorra | 12.1% | 2025 | up 16.1% | rising |
| 109 | Finland | 12.1% | 2022 | down 5.9% | rising |
| 110 | Belgium | 12.0% | 2022 | up 2.9% | rising |
| 111 | Singapore | 12.0% | 2025 | down 32.2% | rising |
| 112 | Bulgaria | 12.0% | 2022 | up 12.1% | volatile |
| 113 | Netherlands | 12.0% | 2022 | up 6.3% | rising |
| 114 | Azerbaijan | 11.9% | 2025 | up 56.3% | volatile |
| 115 | China | 11.9% | 2023 | — | rising |
| 116 | Bangladesh | 11.9% | 2025 | down 1.3% | rising |
| 117 | United Kingdom | 11.8% | 2021 | down 5.2% | rising |
| 118 | Lithuania | 11.7% | 2022 | down 10.2% | falling |
| 119 | Samoa | 11.7% | 2025 | down 20.3% | rising |
| 120 | Paraguay | 11.7% | 2025 | down 35.8% | rising |
| 121 | Togo | 11.6% | 2024 | down 25.5% | rising |
| 122 | Cambodia | 11.6% | 2025 | up 31.4% | rising |
| 123 | Comoros | 11.5% | 2025 | down 13.7% | falling |
| 124 | Grenada | 11.4% | 2025 | up 15.6% | flat |
| 125 | Brunei | 11.4% | 2016 | up 115.8% | falling |
| 126 | Marshall Islands | 11.3% | 2022 | down 56.5% | falling |
| 127 | Turkey | 11.3% | 2022 | down 11.9% | volatile |
| 128 | United States | 11.3% | 2021 | down 16.6% | falling |
| 129 | Slovenia | 11.1% | 2022 | down 2.3% | rising |
| 130 | Nicaragua | 11.0% | 2024 | down 52.2% | rising |
| 131 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 11.0% | 2025 | up 25.4% | falling |
| 132 | Aruba | 11.0% | 2021 | down 49.6% | falling |
| 133 | Egypt | 10.9% | 2008 | — | volatile |
| 134 | Albania | 10.9% | 2023 | down 10.5% | rising |
| 135 | Slovakia | 10.8% | 2022 | up 12.5% | rising |
| 136 | Sudan | 10.8% | 2009 | up 18.3% | flat |
| 137 | Nepal | 10.8% | 2025 | down 36.7% | falling |
| 138 | Seychelles | 10.7% | 2025 | down 31.5% | falling |
| 139 | Germany | 10.7% | 2022 | down 0.3% | rising |
| 140 | Canada | 10.7% | 2022 | down 12.8% | falling |
| 141 | Bahamas | 10.6% | 2025 | down 8.1% | falling |
| 142 | Indonesia | 10.6% | 2025 | down 48.1% | rising |
| 143 | Portugal | 10.4% | 2022 | up 2.5% | rising |
| 144 | Lesotho | 10.4% | 2024 | down 25.6% | falling |
| 145 | Burundi | 10.3% | 2025 | down 62.6% | rising |
| 146 | Venezuela | 10.3% | 2024 | — | volatile |
| 147 | Czechia | 10.0% | 2022 | up 6.0% | rising |
| 148 | Central African Republic | 10.0% | 2023 | up 23.6% | rising |
| 149 | Poland | 10.0% | 2022 | down 10.9% | rising |
| 150 | Japan | 10.0% | 1998 | down 44.0% | falling |
| 151 | Austria | 10.0% | 2022 | down 6.6% | volatile |
| 152 | Latvia | 9.9% | 2022 | down 44.1% | volatile |
| 153 | Spain | 9.9% | 2022 | up 9.0% | flat |
| 154 | Turks and Caicos Islands | 9.8% | 2025 | down 30.9% | volatile |
| 155 | Jordan | 9.8% | 2024 | down 22.0% | volatile |
| 156 | Pakistan | 9.8% | 2023 | down 15.3% | volatile |
| 157 | Myanmar | 9.7% | 2019 | up 81.0% | volatile |
| 158 | Maldives | 9.6% | 2025 | down 15.8% | falling |
| 159 | Tonga | 9.3% | 2024 | down 15.8% | volatile |
| 160 | Qatar | 9.3% | 2020 | down 32.6% | flat |
| 161 | Guinea | 9.2% | 2025 | down 20.8% | rising |
| 162 | Palau | 9.1% | 2025 | up 1.4% | falling |
| 163 | France | 9.1% | 2022 | down 3.8% | falling |
| 164 | Romania | 8.8% | 2022 | up 4.0% | falling |
| 165 | Armenia | 8.7% | 2025 | down 18.3% | volatile |
| 166 | North Macedonia | 8.6% | 2002 | — | volatile |
| 167 | Lebanon | 8.6% | 2025 | up 20.2% | rising |
| 168 | Gibraltar | 8.6% | 2025 | up 21.6% | rising |
| 169 | Suriname | 8.6% | 2024 | down 24.8% | falling |
| 170 | Croatia | 8.5% | 2021 | up 0.6% | rising |
| 171 | Uganda | 8.5% | 2022 | down 25.9% | volatile |
| 172 | Luxembourg | 8.5% | 2022 | down 8.9% | volatile |
| 173 | Serbia | 8.4% | 2023 | down 17.6% | falling |
| 174 | Bahrain | 8.3% | 2025 | up 13.8% | falling |
| 175 | Laos | 8.2% | 2024 | down 29.9% | rising |
| 176 | Somalia | 8.1% | 2025 | up 471.8% | volatile |
| 177 | Hungary | 7.8% | 2022 | down 7.5% | volatile |
| 178 | Bermuda | 7.8% | 2017 | down 35.8% | falling |
| 179 | Monaco | 7.7% | 2023 | up 9.5% | rising |
| 180 | Italy | 7.4% | 2022 | down 7.4% | rising |
| 181 | Liberia | 7.4% | 2021 | up 42.1% | rising |
| 182 | Guyana | 7.2% | 2025 | down 59.6% | volatile |
| 183 | Sri Lanka | 7.2% | 2024 | down 33.3% | volatile |
| 184 | Nauru | 6.6% | 2025 | up 6.4% | rising |
| 185 | Angola | 6.5% | 2025 | down 26.8% | rising |
| 186 | Greece | 6.4% | 2022 | down 10.0% | flat |
| 187 | Antigua and Barbuda | 5.9% | 2025 | down 23.1% | falling |
| 188 | Dominica | 5.8% | 2025 | down 43.2% | flat |
| 189 | Eritrea | 5.4% | 2006 | up 86.8% | rising |
| 190 | East Timor | 4.3% | 2025 | down 49.9% | falling |
| 191 | Papua New Guinea | 3.5% | 2023 | down 51.1% | volatile |
| 192 | Nigeria | 3.0% | 2024 | down 67.0% | falling |
| 193 | South Sudan | 0.0% | 2024 | down 99.9% | volatile |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income) 17.6%
- IDA blend 17.0%
- Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) 16.8%
- Low income 16.7%
- Latin America & Caribbean 16.6%
- Early-demographic dividend 16.3%
- Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) 16.3%
- IBRD only 16.1%
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income) 15.7%
- Africa Eastern and Southern 15.4%
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) 15.4%
- Sub-Saharan Africa 15.4%
About this data
General government expenditure on education (current, capital, and transfers) is expressed as a percentage of total general government expenditure on all sectors (including health, education, social services, etc.). It includes expenditure funded by transfers from international sources to government. General government usually refers to local, regional and central governments.