Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Ecuador

Ecuador: Government spending on education overall vs. primary education was 3.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
3.7%
Change on year
down 3.4%
World rank
119th
of 199 countries
All-time high
6.9%
in 1986
All-time low
1.2%
in 2000
Years of data
26
1970–2024

Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Ecuador, 1970–2024

2461970199720241970: 2 % of GDP1971: 1.9 % of GDP1977: 2.4 % of GDP1984: 4.2 % of GDP1985: 5.2 % of GDP1986: 6.9 % of GDP1995: 2 % of GDP1998: 2.2 % of GDP1999: 1.5 % of GDP2000: 1.2 % of GDP2009: 4.5 % of GDP2010: 4.6 % of GDP2011: 4.7 % of GDP2012: 4.7 % of GDP2013: 4.9 % of GDP2014: 5.2 % of GDP2015: 5.1 % of GDP2016: 4.5 % of GDP2017: 4.6 % of GDP2018: 4.6 % of GDP2019: 4.2 % of GDP2020: 4.3 % of GDP2021: 3.7 % of GDP2022: 3.6 % of GDP2023: 3.8 % of GDP2024: 3.7 % of GDP

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

Analysis

In 2024, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Ecuador stood at 3.7%.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.4% on the previous year and down 29.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Ecuador peaked at 6.9% in 1986 and was at its lowest, 1.2%, in 2000.

That places Ecuador 119th out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 2.1% 1.9% 2.4% 3
1980s 5.4% 4.2% 6.9% 3
1990s 1.9% 1.5% 2.2% 3
2000s 2.9% 1.2% 4.5% 2
2010s 4.7% 4.2% 5.2% 10
2020s 3.8% 3.6% 4.3% 5

Countries ranked near Ecuador

  1. 116 Dominican Republic 3.8% compare
  2. 117 Djibouti 3.8% compare
  3. 118 Luxembourg 3.7% compare
  4. 120 Nepal 3.7% compare
  5. 121 Azerbaijan 3.7% compare
  6. 122 Aruba 3.6% compare

See the full ranking of 199 places →

More reference data data for Ecuador

All data for Ecuador →

Frequently asked questions

What is government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Ecuador?
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Ecuador was 3.7% in 2024, 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 Ecuador?
The highest recorded value was 6.9% in 1986.
What is the lowest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Ecuador?
The lowest recorded value was 1.2% in 2000.
How does Ecuador rank for government spending on education overall vs. primary education?
Ecuador ranks 119th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
Is government spending on education overall vs. primary education rising or falling in Ecuador?
Over the last ten years it is down 29.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Ecuador 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

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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.