Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Nepal

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

Latest (2024)
3.7%
Change on year
down 6.8%
World rank
120th
of 199 countries
All-time high
4.8%
in 2017
All-time low
2.9%
in 1998
Years of data
27
1998–2024

Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Nepal, 1998–2024

0123451998201120241998: 2.9 % of GDP1999: 2.9 % of GDP2000: 3 % of GDP2001: 3.7 % of GDP2002: 3.2 % of GDP2003: 3.1 % of GDP2004: 3.2 % of GDP2005: 3.4 % of GDP2006: 3.6 % of GDP2007: 3.5 % of GDP2008: 3.8 % of GDP2009: 4.7 % of GDP2010: 3.6 % of GDP2011: 3.8 % of GDP2012: 3.3 % of GDP2013: 3 % of GDP2014: 3.5 % of GDP2015: 3.3 % of GDP2016: 3.9 % of GDP2017: 4.8 % of GDP2018: 4.4 % of GDP2019: 3.9 % of GDP2020: 4.2 % of GDP2021: 4.4 % of GDP2022: 4.1 % of GDP2023: 4 % 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 Nepal stood at 3.7%.

That represents a change of down 6.8% on the previous year and up 6.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Nepal peaked at 4.8% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 2.9%, in 1998.

That places Nepal 120th 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 27 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 2.9% 2.9% 2.9% 2
2000s 3.5% 3.0% 4.7% 10
2010s 3.8% 3.0% 4.8% 10
2020s 4.1% 3.7% 4.4% 5

Countries ranked near Nepal

  1. 117 Djibouti 3.8% compare
  2. 118 Luxembourg 3.7% compare
  3. 119 Ecuador 3.7% compare
  4. 121 Azerbaijan 3.7% compare
  5. 122 Aruba 3.6% compare
  6. 123 Cote d'Ivoire 3.6% compare

See the full ranking of 199 places →

More reference data data for Nepal

All data for Nepal →

Frequently asked questions

What is government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Nepal?
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Nepal 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 Nepal?
The highest recorded value was 4.8% in 2017.
What is the lowest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Nepal?
The lowest recorded value was 2.9% in 1998.
How does Nepal rank for government spending on education overall vs. primary education?
Nepal ranks 120th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
Is government spending on education overall vs. primary education rising or falling in Nepal?
Over the last ten years it is up 6.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Nepal 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.