Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Vietnam

Vietnam: Government spending on education overall vs. primary education was 2.9% in 2022. ▼ Falling

Latest (2022)
2.9%
Change on year
down 2.0%
World rank
154th
of 199 countries
All-time high
4.9%
in 2008
All-time low
2.9%
in 2022
Years of data
15
2008–2022

Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Vietnam, 2008–2022

0123452008201520222008: 4.9 % of GDP2009: 4.8 % of GDP2010: 4 % of GDP2011: 3.8 % of GDP2012: 4.4 % of GDP2013: 4.5 % of GDP2014: 3.5 % of GDP2015: 3.4 % of GDP2016: 3.5 % of GDP2017: 3.4 % of GDP2018: 3.3 % of GDP2019: 3.1 % of GDP2020: 3.2 % of GDP2021: 2.9 % of GDP2022: 2.9 % 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 Vietnam is 2.9%, measured in 2022. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.

That represents a change of down 2.0% on the previous year and down 34.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Vietnam peaked at 4.9% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 2.9%, in 2022.

Vietnam ranks 154th of 199 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 4.9% 4.8% 4.9% 2
2010s 3.7% 3.1% 4.5% 10
2020s 3.0% 2.9% 3.2% 3

Countries ranked near Vietnam

  1. 151 Ghana 2.9% compare
  2. 152 Ireland 2.9% compare
  3. 153 San Marino 2.9% compare
  4. 155 Nicaragua 2.9% compare
  5. 156 Suriname 2.9% compare
  6. 157 Democratic Republic of Congo 2.8% compare

See the full ranking of 199 places →

More reference data data for Vietnam

All data for Vietnam →

Frequently asked questions

What is government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Vietnam?
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Vietnam was 2.9% 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 Vietnam?
The highest recorded value was 4.9% in 2008.
What is the lowest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Vietnam?
The lowest recorded value was 2.9% in 2022.
How does Vietnam rank for government spending on education overall vs. primary education?
Vietnam ranks 154th out of 199 countries with data for 2022.
Is government spending on education overall vs. primary education rising or falling in Vietnam?
Over the last ten years it is down 34.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Vietnam 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 — 15 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.