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

Liberia: Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education was 7.4% in 2021. ▲ Rising

Latest (2021)
7.4%
Change on year
down 7.5%
World rank
180th
of 194 countries
All-time high
8.0%
in 2018
All-time low
5.2%
in 2012
Years of data
7
2008–2021

Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Liberia, 2008–2021

024682008201420212008: 6.5 %2012: 5.2 %2013: 5.7 %2014: 6.8 %2017: 7.8 %2018: 8 %2021: 7.4 %

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

Analysis

Liberia recorded 7.4% for share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in 2021.

The figure is down 7.5% on the previous year and up 42.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Liberia peaked at 8.0% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 5.2%, in 2012.

That places Liberia 180th out of 194 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the bottom quarter.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 6.5% 6.5% 6.5% 1
2010s 6.7% 5.2% 8.0% 5
2020s 7.4% 7.4% 7.4% 1

Countries ranked near Liberia

  1. 177 Bermuda 7.8% compare
  2. 178 Monaco 7.7% compare
  3. 179 Italy 7.4% compare
  4. 181 Guyana 7.2% compare
  5. 182 Sri Lanka 7.2% compare
  6. 183 Nauru 6.6% compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More economy & growth data for Liberia

All data for Liberia →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Liberia?
Share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Liberia was 7.4% in 2021, 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 Liberia?
The highest recorded value was 8.0% in 2018.
What is the lowest share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education recorded in Liberia?
The lowest recorded value was 5.2% in 2012.
How does Liberia rank for share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education?
Liberia ranks 180th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
Is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education rising or falling in Liberia?
Over the last ten years it is up 42.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Liberia 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.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 7 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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.