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

Kenya: Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education was 28.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
28.5%
Change on year
up 2.2%
World rank
2nd
of 194 countries
All-time high
28.9%
in 2005
All-time low
13.9%
in 1993
Years of data
35
1982–2025

Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Kenya, 1982–2025

01020301982200320251982: 16.3 %1983: 17.4 %1984: 14.5 %1985: 15.6 %1986: 17.7 %1988: 19.5 %1989: 17.1 %1991: 18.6 %1992: 16 %1993: 13.9 %1994: 15 %1999: 25.3 %2000: 24.1 %2001: 23 %2002: 26.8 %2003: 25.9 %2004: 27.6 %2005: 28.9 %2006: 27 %2010: 20.4 %2011: 20.2 %2012: 19.5 %2013: 18.7 %2014: 17.8 %2015: 17.4 %2016: 17.5 %2017: 17.6 %2018: 19 %2019: 19.1 %2020: 17.8 %2021: 17.3 %2022: 16.1 %2023: 25 %2024: 27.9 %2025: 28.5 %

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 Kenya is 28.5%, measured in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.2% on the previous year and up 64.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Kenya peaked at 28.9% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 13.9%, in 1993.

That places Kenya 2nd out of 194 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 16.9% 14.5% 19.5% 7
1990s 17.7% 13.9% 25.3% 5
2000s 26.2% 23.0% 28.9% 7
2010s 18.7% 17.4% 20.4% 10
2020s 22.1% 16.1% 28.5% 6

Countries ranked near Kenya

  1. 1 Mauritania 31.9% compare
  2. 3 Turkmenistan 27.6% compare
  3. 4 Solomon Islands 25.2% compare
  4. 5 Namibia 24.6% compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More economy & growth data for Kenya

All data for Kenya →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Kenya?
Share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Kenya was 28.5% 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 Kenya?
The highest recorded value was 28.9% in 2005.
What is the lowest share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education recorded in Kenya?
The lowest recorded value was 13.9% in 1993.
How does Kenya rank for share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education?
Kenya ranks 2nd 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 Kenya?
Over the last ten years it is up 64.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Kenya 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.