Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Chile

Chile: Government spending on education overall vs. primary education was 4.9% in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
4.9%
Change on year
down 1.8%
World rank
67th
of 199 countries
All-time high
5.6%
in 2020
All-time low
2.2%
in 1990
Years of data
36
1974–2022

Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Chile, 1974–2022

02461974199820221974: 3.7 % of GDP1975: 3.5 % of GDP1978: 3 % of GDP1979: 3.4 % of GDP1980: 4.1 % of GDP1981: 4.8 % of GDP1987: 2.8 % of GDP1990: 2.2 % of GDP1993: 2.4 % of GDP1994: 2.5 % of GDP1995: 2.6 % of GDP1996: 2.8 % of GDP1997: 3 % of GDP1998: 3.3 % of GDP1999: 3.7 % of GDP2000: 3.8 % of GDP2002: 4 % of GDP2003: 3.9 % of GDP2004: 3.5 % of GDP2005: 3.3 % of GDP2006: 3 % of GDP2007: 3.2 % of GDP2008: 3.8 % of GDP2009: 4.3 % of GDP2010: 4.2 % of GDP2011: 4.1 % of GDP2013: 4.5 % of GDP2014: 4.8 % of GDP2015: 4.9 % of GDP2016: 5.4 % of GDP2017: 5.4 % of GDP2018: 5.5 % of GDP2019: 5.6 % of GDP2020: 5.6 % of GDP2021: 5 % of GDP2022: 4.9 % of GDP

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Chile is 4.9%, measured in 2022.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.8% on the previous year and up 20.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Chile peaked at 5.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.2%, in 1990.

Chile ranks 67th of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 3.4% 3.0% 3.7% 4
1980s 3.9% 2.8% 4.8% 3
1990s 2.8% 2.2% 3.7% 8
2000s 3.7% 3.0% 4.3% 9
2010s 4.9% 4.1% 5.6% 9
2020s 5.2% 4.9% 5.6% 3

Countries ranked near Chile

  1. 64 Belarus 5.0% compare
  2. 65 Sao Tome and Principe 5.0% compare
  3. 66 Argentina 5.0% compare
  4. 68 Kazakhstan 4.9% compare
  5. 69 Switzerland 4.9% compare
  6. 70 Canada 4.8% compare

See the full ranking of 199 places →

More reference data data for Chile

All data for Chile →

Frequently asked questions

What is government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Chile?
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Chile was 4.9% 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 Chile?
The highest recorded value was 5.6% in 2020.
What is the lowest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Chile?
The lowest recorded value was 2.2% in 1990.
How does Chile rank for government spending on education overall vs. primary education?
Chile ranks 67th out of 199 countries with data for 2022.
Is government spending on education overall vs. primary education rising or falling in Chile?
Over the last ten years it is up 20.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Chile 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.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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.