Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Barbados

Barbados: Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education was 14.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
14.2%
Change on year
up 19.8%
World rank
72nd
of 194 countries
All-time high
26.9%
in 2001
All-time low
11.8%
in 2024
Years of data
25
1999–2025

Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Barbados, 1999–2025

01020301999201220251999: 21.2 %2000: 22.2 %2001: 26.9 %2002: 24.7 %2003: 18.6 %2004: 18.6 %2005: 18.2 %2007: 17.2 %2008: 15.7 %2009: 16.1 %2010: 18.1 %2012: 16.7 %2013: 14.8 %2014: 17.5 %2015: 17.8 %2016: 13.4 %2017: 12.9 %2018: 16.4 %2019: 13.9 %2020: 16.1 %2021: 14.8 %2022: 12.7 %2023: 12.5 %2024: 11.8 %2025: 14.2 %

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Barbados is 14.2%, measured in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 19.8% on the previous year and down 20.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Barbados peaked at 26.9% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 11.8%, in 2024.

Barbados ranks 72nd of 194 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 21.2% 21.2% 21.2% 1
2000s 19.8% 15.7% 26.9% 9
2010s 15.7% 12.9% 18.1% 9
2020s 13.7% 11.8% 16.1% 6

Countries ranked near Barbados

  1. 69 Mexico 14.2% compare
  2. 70 Gambia 14.2% compare
  3. 71 Mauritius 14.2% compare
  4. 73 Oman 14.2% compare
  5. 74 Denmark 14.2% compare
  6. 75 India 14.2% compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More economy & growth data for Barbados

All data for Barbados →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Barbados?
Share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Barbados was 14.2% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education recorded in Barbados?
The highest recorded value was 26.9% in 2001.
What is the lowest share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education recorded in Barbados?
The lowest recorded value was 11.8% in 2024.
How does Barbados rank for share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education?
Barbados ranks 72nd out of 194 countries with data for 2025.
Is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education rising or falling in Barbados?
Over the last ten years it is down 20.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Barbados data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
194 places, 4,043 data points, 1980–2025
Last refreshed

Percentage of total general government spending (across all sectors) that is allocated to education.