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

Panama: Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education was 16.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
16.3%
Change on year
up 41.7%
World rank
45th
of 194 countries
All-time high
19.8%
in 2000
All-time low
11.5%
in 2023
Years of data
22
1995–2024

Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Panama, 1995–2024

051015201995200920241995: 17.4 %1996: 17.7 %1997: 16.5 %1999: 18.8 %2000: 19.8 %2001: 16.6 %2002: 17 %2003: 16.3 %2004: 14.6 %2008: 14.9 %2011: 12.9 %2014: 13.3 %2015: 15.2 %2016: 15.5 %2017: 15.9 %2018: 15.8 %2019: 15.6 %2020: 15.6 %2021: 15.6 %2022: 15.8 %2023: 11.5 %2024: 16.3 %

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

Analysis

Panama recorded 16.3% for share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in 2024.

That represents a change of up 41.7% on the previous year and up 22.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Panama peaked at 19.8% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 11.5%, in 2023.

That places Panama 45th out of 194 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 17.6% 16.5% 18.8% 4
2000s 16.5% 14.6% 19.8% 6
2010s 14.9% 12.9% 15.9% 7
2020s 15.0% 11.5% 16.3% 5

Countries ranked near Panama

  1. 42 Ethiopia 16.7% compare
  2. 43 Chad 16.5% compare
  3. 44 Curacao 16.4% compare
  4. 46 Guinea-Bissau 16.2% compare
  5. 47 Israel 16.1% compare
  6. 48 Malawi 16.0% compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More economy & growth data for Panama

All data for Panama →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Panama?
Share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Panama was 16.3% in 2024, 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 Panama?
The highest recorded value was 19.8% in 2000.
What is the lowest share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education recorded in Panama?
The lowest recorded value was 11.5% in 2023.
How does Panama rank for share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education?
Panama ranks 45th out of 194 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education rising or falling in Panama?
Over the last ten years it is up 22.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Panama 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.