World rankings / DATA EXPLORER

THE GLOBAL INDEX #066

Public education spending2023

Government education expenditure as a percentage of GDP.

World Bank
Comparable ranking year2023Latest published year: 2025
Economies with data121 / 217No observation: 96
First-ranked country or territoryKiribati16.39 % of GDP

Top 10

% of GDP · 2023

Complete ranking

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Public education spending · 2023 · % of GDP
RankCountry / territoryValue (% of GDP)Year
01Kiribati16.392023
02Tuvalu12.852023
03Solomon Islands8.292023
04Bolivia7.892023
05Vanuatu7.582023
06Lesotho7.292023
07Kyrgyzstan6.832023
08Tunisia6.732023
09Moldova6.562023
10St. Vincent & Grenadines6.462023
11Senegal6.162023
12South Africa6.122023
13Samoa6.112023
14Morocco6.022023
15Bhutan5.852023
16Nauru5.782023
17Jamaica5.652023
18Algeria5.612023
19Uzbekistan5.472023
20Tajikistan5.442023
21Burkina Faso5.332023
22Costa Rica5.312023
23Curaçao5.32023
24Timor-Leste5.242023
25New Zealand5.212023
26Maldives5.172023
27Grenada5.132023
28São Tomé & Príncipe5.032023
29Kuwait5.032023
30Eswatini52023
31Argentina52023
32Rwanda4.922023
33Belarus4.912023
34Kazakhstan4.862023
35Uruguay4.762023
36Mauritania4.722023
37Dominica4.692023
38Mauritius4.572023
39Honduras4.552023
40Saudi Arabia4.482023
41Seychelles4.452023
42Cape Verde4.352023
43Puerto Rico4.272023
44Fiji4.252023
45Peru4.252023
46Belize4.232023
47Mali4.182023
48Russia4.162023
49Togo4.142023
50Niger4.072023
51Zambia4.072023
52Kenya3.962023
53Nepal3.962023
54Sint Maarten3.922023
55China3.92023
56Ecuador3.822023
57Hong Kong SAR China3.82023
58Barbados3.782023
59Dominican Republic3.762023
60Georgia3.712023
61Azerbaijan3.662023
62Mongolia3.662023
63Philippines3.622023
64Jordan3.512023
65Malaysia3.512023
66Macao SAR China3.52023
67St. Kitts & Nevis3.52023
68Palau3.442023
69Serbia3.42023
70Côte d’Ivoire3.392023
71Paraguay3.392023
72Congo - Brazzaville3.342023
73Tanzania3.262023
74Bosnia & Herzegovina3.252023
75Trinidad & Tobago3.232023
76Benin3.232023
77Chad3.22023
78El Salvador3.192023
79British Virgin Islands3.172023
80Guatemala3.112023
81Antigua & Barbuda3.112023
82Albania3.092023
83Madagascar3.052023
84Ethiopia2.932023
85Nicaragua2.872023
86Suriname2.872023
87Cameroon2.842023
88Iran2.822023
89Gambia2.812023
90St. Lucia2.742023
91Bahamas2.742023
92Turkmenistan2.712023
93Turks & Caicos Islands2.692023
94Sierra Leone2.622023
95Thailand2.522023
96Angola2.512023
97Panama2.472023
98Armenia2.442023
99Comoros2.342023
100Gabon2.322023
101Liberia2.272023
102Cambodia2.182023
103Bangladesh2.162023
104Singapore2.12023
105Pakistan1.952023
106Andorra1.92023
107Bahrain1.892023
108Bermuda1.872023
109Central African Republic1.832023
110Sri Lanka1.832023
111Monaco1.732023
112Guinea1.722023
113Cayman Islands1.572023
114Lebanon1.52023
115Indonesia1.282023
116Laos1.232023
117Haiti0.962023
118Papua New Guinea0.782023
119Zimbabwe0.382023
120Nigeria0.322023
121Somalia02023

How this ranking works

For annual statistics, the default is the newest year covering at least 70% of the maximum available country coverage, and at least 20 economies where possible. A ranking uses one year or report edition; missing observations are not replaced with another year. Newer years with lower coverage can be selected.

Intentional homicide rates and peace scores rank from lowest to highest; other indicators rank from highest to lowest. Ranks use original values and competition ranking for ties, for example 1, 2, 2, 4. Filtering or changing display order does not recalculate global ranks. Higher values are not necessarily better.

Statistics reflect the public source snapshot, not live measurements. Some series are modeled estimates or multi-year averages. See original metadata.

No observation (96)

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Source & definition

Indicator definition
Government education expenditure as a percentage of GDP.
Unit
% of GDP
Source & definition
World Bank · SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS
Open original source ↗
Original metadata
General government expenditure on education (current, capital, and transfers) is expressed as a percentage of GDP. It includes expenditure funded by transfers from international sources to government. General government usually refers to local, regional and central governments.

{
  "id": "SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS",
  "name": "Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP)",
  "unit": "",
  "source": {
    "id": "2",
    "value": "World Development Indicators"
  },
  "sourceNote": "General government expenditure on education (current, capital, and transfers) is expressed as a percentage of GDP. It includes expenditure funded by transfers from international sources to government. General government usually refers to local, regional and central governments.",
  "sourceOrganization": "Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API.  Detailed documentation is available at: https://api.uis.unesco.org/api/public/documentation/, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), date accessed: 2026-03-19, date published: 2026-02",
  "topics": [
    {
      "id": "4",
      "value": "Education "
    }
  ]
}