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Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Belgium

Belgium: Government spending on education overall vs. primary education was 6.3% in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
6.3%
Change on year
down 1.6%
World rank
25th
of 199 countries
All-time high
6.8%
in 2020
All-time low
3.0%
in 1995
Years of data
31
1975–2022

Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Belgium, 1975–2022

02461975199820221975: 5.8 % of GDP1976: 5.7 % of GDP1977: 6 % of GDP1978: 5.4 % of GDP1979: 5.4 % of GDP1980: 5.3 % of GDP1981: 5.4 % of GDP1982: 5.3 % of GDP1986: 4.9 % of GDP1987: 4.6 % of GDP1988: 4.3 % of GDP1993: 5.4 % of GDP1994: 5.4 % of GDP1995: 3 % of GDP1996: 3 % of GDP2005: 5.8 % of GDP2008: 6.3 % of GDP2009: 6.4 % of GDP2010: 6.4 % of GDP2011: 6.4 % of GDP2012: 6.6 % of GDP2013: 6.6 % of GDP2014: 6.6 % of GDP2015: 6.5 % of GDP2016: 6.5 % of GDP2017: 6.4 % of GDP2018: 6.4 % of GDP2019: 6.3 % of GDP2020: 6.8 % of GDP2021: 6.4 % of GDP2022: 6.3 % of GDP

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.

Analysis

Belgium recorded 6.3% for government spending on education overall vs. primary education in 2022.

That represents a change of down 1.6% on the previous year and down 4.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Belgium peaked at 6.8% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 3.0%, in 1995.

Belgium ranks 25th of 199 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 5.7% 5.4% 6.0% 5
1980s 5.0% 4.3% 5.4% 6
1990s 4.2% 3.0% 5.4% 4
2000s 6.2% 5.8% 6.4% 3
2010s 6.5% 6.3% 6.6% 10
2020s 6.5% 6.3% 6.8% 3

Countries ranked near Belgium

  1. 22 Kuwait 6.4% compare
  2. 23 Finland 6.4% compare
  3. 24 Denmark 6.4% compare
  4. 26 Senegal 6.2% compare
  5. 27 Eswatini 6.0% compare
  6. 28 South Africa 6.0% compare

See the full ranking of 199 places →

More reference data data for Belgium

All data for Belgium →

Frequently asked questions

What is government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Belgium?
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Belgium was 6.3% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Belgium?
The highest recorded value was 6.8% in 2020.
What is the lowest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Belgium?
The lowest recorded value was 3.0% in 1995.
How does Belgium rank for government spending on education overall vs. primary education?
Belgium ranks 25th out of 199 countries with data for 2022.
Is government spending on education overall vs. primary education rising or falling in Belgium?
Over the last ten years it is down 4.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Belgium data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Government spending on education overall vs. primary education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education
Unit
% of GDP
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
199 places, 5,140 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

Total annual general government spending on all levels of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP.