Education Spending by Country 2026: Statistics, Charts & Rankings
Country and economy ranking for government expenditure on education as a share of GDP. The 2026 label identifies the publication edition; values use the latest available World Bank WDI / UNESCO UIS source year for each reported country or economy.
The primary indicator is SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS: general government education expenditure, including current expenditure, capital expenditure, and transfers, expressed as a percentage of GDP.
Education Spending Statistics
Values compare reported government education expenditure as a share of GDP, not total current-dollar budgets or per-student spending.
Data analysis
- Kiribati records the highest reported value at 16.4% of GDP.
- Tuvalu is second at 12.8% of GDP.
- The largest reporting band is 4% to 5.9%, with 74 countries/economies.
- 2023 supplies more than half of the latest-available ranking rows.
Education Spending Ranking Visual
The chart summarizes the highest reported values. The country table keeps the visible row-level values and source years.
Highest reported spending band by GDP share.
Largest value band in the ranking set.
Lower-middle reported spending band.
Lowest reported spending band by GDP share.
Map analysis
- 99 countries/economies report values of 4% of GDP or higher.
- 82 countries/economies report values below 4% of GDP.
- The band grid is a static map substitute and does not replace the country table.
Highest Reported Government Education Spending Values
Top 20 countries/economies by government education expenditure as a percentage of GDP.
Small economies can appear near the top because the metric is a share of GDP, not total education expenditure in dollars.
Chart analysis
- Kiribati and Tuvalu are the only entries above 10% of GDP in the visual summary.
- The twentieth row shown in the chart is Costa Rica at 6.2%.
- The top 20 visual includes countries/economies with source years from 2021 to 2024.
Country Spending Ranking Table
The visible table lists the highest reported latest-available country/economy rows. Coverage tables below summarize the full 181-row reported source set.
| Rank | Country | % GDP | Year | Band | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiribati | 16.4% | 2023 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 2 | Tuvalu | 12.8% | 2023 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 3 | Namibia | 9.1% | 2024 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 4 | Cuba | 8.4% | 2022 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 5 | Bolivia | 8.3% | 2023 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 6 | Solomon Islands | 8.3% | 2023 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 7 | Marshall Islands | 7.7% | 2022 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 8 | Vanuatu | 7.6% | 2023 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 9 | Sweden | 7.3% | 2022 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 10 | Iceland | 7.3% | 2022 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 11 | Kyrgyz Republic | 6.8% | 2023 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 12 | Tunisia | 6.7% | 2023 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 13 | Moldova | 6.6% | 2023 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 14 | Lesotho | 6.6% | 2024 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 15 | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 6.5% | 2023 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 16 | Kuwait | 6.4% | 2024 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 17 | Finland | 6.4% | 2022 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 18 | Denmark | 6.4% | 2022 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 19 | Belgium | 6.3% | 2022 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 20 | Costa Rica | 6.2% | 2021 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 21 | Senegal | 6.2% | 2023 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 22 | Eswatini | 6.0% | 2024 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 23 | South Africa | 6.0% | 2024 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 24 | Morocco | 6.0% | 2023 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 25 | Mozambique | 6.0% | 2022 | 6%+ | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 26 | Israel | 5.9% | 2022 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 27 | United Kingdom | 5.9% | 2021 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 28 | Argentina | 5.9% | 2023 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 29 | Bhutan | 5.8% | 2023 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 30 | Korea, Rep. | 5.8% | 2022 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 31 | Nauru | 5.7% | 2023 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 32 | Brazil | 5.6% | 2022 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 33 | Algeria | 5.6% | 2023 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 34 | Jamaica | 5.5% | 2024 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 35 | Uzbekistan | 5.5% | 2023 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 36 | Samoa | 5.5% | 2024 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 37 | Norway | 5.5% | 2022 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 38 | Curacao | 5.4% | 2024 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 39 | Tajikistan | 5.4% | 2023 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 40 | West Bank and Gaza | 5.4% | 2021 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 41 | United States | 5.4% | 2021 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 42 | Dominica | 5.4% | 2024 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 43 | Burkina Faso | 5.3% | 2023 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 44 | France | 5.3% | 2022 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 45 | Tonga | 5.3% | 2022 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 46 | Slovenia | 5.3% | 2022 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 47 | Austria | 5.3% | 2022 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 48 | New Zealand | 5.3% | 2023 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 49 | Timor-Leste | 5.2% | 2023 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| 50 | Germany | 5.2% | 2022 | 4% to 5.9% | World Bank WDI / UIS |
Table analysis
- The visible ranking table lists the 50 highest reported latest-available rows from the ranking set.
- 25 of the first 50 rows are in the 6%+ band.
- 2023 is the most frequent source year among the highest reported rows.
- Germany is the fiftieth visible row at 5.2% of GDP.
- The ranking should be read as an indicator-specific GDP-share comparison.
Spending Distribution and Source-Year Coverage
Supporting tables summarize the 181-row reported source set by value band and latest available source year.
Reported Value Distribution by Spending Band
Country/economy counts by government education expenditure as % of GDP.
The 4% to 5.9% band contains the largest number of reported countries/economies.
Chart analysis
- 74 countries/economies fall in the 4% to 5.9% band.
- 64 countries/economies fall in the 2% to 3.9% band.
- The two middle bands together account for 138 of 181 reported rows.
| Band | Countries/economies | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 6%+ | 25 | 13.8% |
| 4% to 5.9% | 74 | 40.9% |
| 2% to 3.9% | 64 | 35.4% |
| Below 2% | 18 | 9.9% |
Spending analysis
- The 4% to 5.9% band is the largest single category.
- The 6%+ band contains 25 countries/economies.
- Reported values below 2% account for 9.9% of the source set.
Latest Available Source-Year Mix
Count of ranking rows by latest reported source year.
A latest-available table can mix several source years because countries report fiscal data at different times.
Source-year analysis
- 2023 supplies 96 of the latest reported rows.
- 2022 supplies 48 rows.
- 2025 appears once in the extracted ranking set.
| Source year | Countries/economies | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11 | 6.1% |
| 2022 | 48 | 26.5% |
| 2023 | 96 | 53.0% |
| 2024 | 25 | 13.8% |
| 2025 | 1 | 0.6% |
Table analysis
- Rows using 2023 represent more than half of the extracted ranking set.
- Rows using 2021 remain in the latest-available set where newer values were not present.
- The source-year mix prevents a same-year fiscal interpretation of every rank position.
| Country | % GDP | Year | Source note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lebanon | 1.22% | 2024 | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| Haiti | 0.96% | 2023 | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| Papua New Guinea | 0.78% | 2023 | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| Zimbabwe | 0.38% | 2023 | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| Nigeria | 0.32% | 2023 | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| Venezuela, RB | 0.00% | 2023 | World Bank WDI / UIS |
| Somalia, Fed. Rep. | 0.00% | 2023 | World Bank WDI / UIS |
Spending analysis
- The lowest reported values table is a diagnostic view, not a quality ranking.
- Venezuela, RB and Somalia, Fed. Rep. appear at 0.00% in the extracted source set for 2023.
- Very low reported values can reflect fiscal reporting coverage, national accounting conditions, or source-year limitations.
Spending Interpretation Notes
The ranking is limited to one fiscal input indicator. It should be separated from student outcomes, school quality, and per-student purchasing power.
GDP-share metric
A country can rank high because education spending is large relative to GDP, because GDP is small, or because fiscal reporting captures a broad public education expenditure base.
Not a total-budget ranking
The table does not rank countries by total nominal education expenditure. Large economies can have high total spending while ranking lower on the GDP-share indicator.
Different source years
Latest available values mix 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and one 2025 row. Rank positions should not be read as a same-year budget comparison.
No outcome inference
The indicator measures public financial input. It does not measure learning achievement, completion, literacy, teacher supply, or school effectiveness.
Private spending excluded
The WDI / UIS indicator focuses on general government expenditure. Household spending and private institutional expenditure are not part of the ranking metric.
Rounding
Displayed country values are rounded for readability. Ranking order follows the extracted latest-available source values.
Source and Methodology
World Bank World Development Indicators: SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS, sourced from UNESCO Institute for Statistics where applicable.
Government expenditure on education, total, measured as a percentage of GDP. The indicator covers general government education expenditure, including current spending, capital spending, and transfers.
The extracted ranking set contains 181 reported countries/economies. World and regional aggregates are not ranked as countries.
Rows use the latest available source year for each country/economy. The extracted ranking set includes source years from 2021 through 2025.
The WDI indicator is published as a long-run time series. The country ranking above uses latest available rows rather than forcing a single historical anchor year.
Countries without a reported value in the selected latest-available extraction are not assigned a value. No missing country value is estimated.
Country values in the visible ranking are displayed to one decimal place. Supporting low-value rows are shown to two decimals where needed for readability.
Chart datasets are copied from the visible HTML tables. Charts are visual summaries; table rows remain the readable data layer if chart rendering is unavailable.
Method: select the latest non-empty WDI / UIS government education expenditure value for each reported country/economy, rank by expenditure as a percentage of GDP, group values into spending bands, and count source years across the extracted ranking set. The ranking does not combine education spending with PISA, TIMSS, PIRLS, literacy, enrollment, or schooling-years indicators.
The ranking compares reported government education expenditure as a share of GDP. It does not compare total current-dollar education budgets, per-student spending, PPP-adjusted spending, private education spending, or student outcomes. A higher GDP share should not be read as evidence of higher learning performance.