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

Zambia: Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education was 14.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
14.5%
Change on year
down 5.7%
World rank
65th
of 194 countries
All-time high
20.2%
in 2014
All-time low
5.7%
in 2008
Years of data
20
2000–2025

Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Zambia, 2000–2025

51015202000201220252000: 8.4 %2004: 10.6 %2005: 7.7 %2007: 6.2 %2008: 5.7 %2010: 19.9 %2011: 18.6 %2012: 17.5 %2013: 17.5 %2014: 20.2 %2015: 16.7 %2016: 15.7 %2017: 14.9 %2018: 17.1 %2019: 15.3 %2020: 12.4 %2021: 11.5 %2023: 13.9 %2024: 15.4 %2025: 14.5 %

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 Zambia is 14.5%, measured in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.7% on the previous year and down 13.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Zambia peaked at 20.2% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 5.7%, in 2008.

That places Zambia 65th out of 194 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 7.7% 5.7% 10.6% 5
2010s 17.3% 14.9% 20.2% 10
2020s 13.5% 11.5% 15.4% 5

Countries ranked near Zambia

  1. 62 Philippines 15.2% compare
  2. 63 Congo 14.7% compare
  3. 64 North Korea 14.6% compare
  4. 66 Djibouti 14.5% compare
  5. 67 Norway 14.5% compare
  6. 68 Russia 14.3% compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More economy & growth data for Zambia

All data for Zambia →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Zambia?
Share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Zambia was 14.5% 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 Zambia?
The highest recorded value was 20.2% in 2014.
What is the lowest share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education recorded in Zambia?
The lowest recorded value was 5.7% in 2008.
How does Zambia rank for share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education?
Zambia ranks 65th 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 Zambia?
Over the last ten years it is down 13.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Zambia 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.