Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo: Government spending on education overall vs. primary education was 2.8% in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
2.8%
Change on year
up 6.9%
World rank
157th
of 199 countries
All-time high
2.8%
in 2022
All-time low
0.7%
in 1984
Years of data
18
1980–2022

Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Democratic Republic of Congo, 1980–2022

0.511.522.531980200120221980: 2.3 % of GDP1981: 2.5 % of GDP1982: 2.8 % of GDP1983: 1.3 % of GDP1984: 0.704 % of GDP1985: 0.826 % of GDP1986: 0.723 % of GDP1987: 0.861 % of GDP1988: 0.815 % of GDP2010: 1.5 % of GDP2013: 2.1 % of GDP2014: 2 % of GDP2015: 2.2 % of GDP2016: 2.1 % of GDP2017: 1.5 % of GDP2020: 2.6 % of GDP2021: 2.7 % of GDP2022: 2.8 % 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 Democratic Republic of Congo is 2.8%, measured in 2022. That is the highest value across all 18 years on record.

That represents a change of up 6.9% on the previous year and up 37.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 2.8% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 1984.

Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 157th of 199 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 1.4% 0.7% 2.8% 9
2010s 1.9% 1.5% 2.2% 6
2020s 2.7% 2.6% 2.8% 3

Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo

  1. 154 Vietnam 2.9% compare
  2. 155 Nicaragua 2.9% compare
  3. 156 Suriname 2.9% compare
  4. 158 Cameroon 2.8% compare
  5. 159 Iran 2.8% compare
  6. 160 Gambia 2.8% compare

See the full ranking of 199 places →

More reference data data for Democratic Republic of Congo

All data for Democratic Republic of Congo →

Frequently asked questions

What is government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Democratic Republic of Congo was 2.8% 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 Democratic Republic of Congo?
The highest recorded value was 2.8% in 2022.
What is the lowest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 1984.
How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for government spending on education overall vs. primary education?
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 157th out of 199 countries with data for 2022.
Is government spending on education overall vs. primary education rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Over the last ten years it is up 37.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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.