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

Botswana: Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education was 21.5% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
21.5%
Change on year
down 3.9%
World rank
11th
of 194 countries
All-time high
26.5%
in 2007
All-time low
14.2%
in 1983
Years of data
22
1983–2020

Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Botswana, 1983–2020

01020301983200120201983: 14.2 %1984: 15.4 %1985: 15.3 %1986: 15.4 %1987: 16.6 %1988: 15.9 %1990: 16.4 %1992: 16.2 %2005: 25.8 %2007: 26.5 %2009: 20.5 %2010: 23.6 %2011: 24.2 %2012: 21.7 %2013: 20.9 %2014: 22.7 %2015: 23.1 %2016: 22 %2017: 22.8 %2018: 22.6 %2019: 22.3 %2020: 21.5 %

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

Analysis

In 2020, share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Botswana stood at 21.5%.

That represents a change of down 3.9% on the previous year and down 8.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Botswana peaked at 26.5% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 14.2%, in 1983.

That places Botswana 11th out of 194 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 15.4% 14.2% 16.6% 6
1990s 16.3% 16.2% 16.4% 2
2000s 24.3% 20.5% 26.5% 3
2010s 22.6% 20.9% 24.2% 10
2020s 21.5% 21.5% 21.5% 1

Countries ranked near Botswana

  1. 8 Bhutan 22.2% compare
  2. 9 Uzbekistan 22.1% compare
  3. 10 Kazakhstan 22.0% compare
  4. 12 Senegal 20.9% compare
  5. 13 Dominican Republic 20.9% compare
  6. 14 Sierra Leone 20.5% compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More economy & growth data for Botswana

All data for Botswana →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Botswana?
Share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Botswana was 21.5% in 2020, 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 Botswana?
The highest recorded value was 26.5% in 2007.
What is the lowest share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education recorded in Botswana?
The lowest recorded value was 14.2% in 1983.
How does Botswana rank for share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education?
Botswana ranks 11th out of 194 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education rising or falling in Botswana?
Over the last ten years it is down 8.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Botswana 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.