Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Cuba

Cuba: Government spending on education overall vs. primary education was 8.4% in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
8.4%
Change on year
down 10.1%
World rank
6th
of 199 countries
All-time high
14.1%
in 2008
All-time low
5.6%
in 1994
Years of data
28
1980–2022

Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Cuba, 1980–2022

0510151980200120221980: 8.4 % of GDP1991: 7.1 % of GDP1993: 7.1 % of GDP1994: 5.6 % of GDP1998: 6.2 % of GDP1999: 6.8 % of GDP2000: 7.7 % of GDP2001: 8.4 % of GDP2002: 9.6 % of GDP2003: 9.9 % of GDP2004: 10.3 % of GDP2005: 10.6 % of GDP2006: 9.1 % of GDP2007: 11.9 % of GDP2008: 14.1 % of GDP2009: 13.1 % of GDP2010: 12.8 % of GDP2012: 11.6 % of GDP2013: 10.7 % of GDP2014: 9.6 % of GDP2015: 9 % of GDP2016: 9 % of GDP2017: 8.4 % of GDP2018: 8 % of GDP2019: 9 % of GDP2020: 11.5 % of GDP2021: 9.4 % of GDP2022: 8.4 % of GDP

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

Analysis

Cuba recorded 8.4% for government spending on education overall vs. primary education in 2022.

That represents a change of down 10.1% on the previous year and down 26.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Cuba peaked at 14.1% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 5.6%, in 1994.

That places Cuba 6th out of 199 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 8.4% 8.4% 8.4% 1
1990s 6.6% 5.6% 7.1% 5
2000s 10.5% 7.7% 14.1% 10
2010s 9.8% 8.0% 12.8% 9
2020s 9.8% 8.4% 11.5% 3

Countries ranked near Cuba

  1. 3 Micronesia (country) 11.6% compare
  2. 4 Namibia 9.1% compare
  3. 5 Algeria 9.0% compare
  4. 7 Solomon Islands 8.3% compare
  5. 8 Botswana 8.1% compare
  6. 9 Marshall Islands 7.7% compare

See the full ranking of 199 places →

More reference data data for Cuba

All data for Cuba →

Frequently asked questions

What is government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Cuba?
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Cuba was 8.4% 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 Cuba?
The highest recorded value was 14.1% in 2008.
What is the lowest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Cuba?
The lowest recorded value was 5.6% in 1994.
How does Cuba rank for government spending on education overall vs. primary education?
Cuba ranks 6th out of 199 countries with data for 2022.
Is government spending on education overall vs. primary education rising or falling in Cuba?
Over the last ten years it is down 26.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Cuba 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.