* indicates monthly or quarterly data series

Public spending on education, percent of GDP, 2021:

The average for 2021 based on 10 countries was 6.38 percent. The highest value was in Kiribati: 14.2 percent and the lowest value was in Papua New Guinea: 1.35 percent. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Measure: percent; Source: UNESCO
Select indicator
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series


Countries Education spending, percent of GDP, 2021 Global rank Available data
Kiribati 14.2 1 1970 - 2021
Vanuatu 10.11 2 1994 - 2023
Solomon Isl. 8.33 3 1971 - 2023
New Zealand 5.55 4 1973 - 2022
Australia 5.33 5 1978 - 2022
Samoa 5.2 6 1999 - 2023
Tonga 4.93 7 1984 - 2023
Fiji 4.85 8 1979 - 2023
Palau 3.94 9 2000 - 2023
Papua N.G. 1.35 10 1972 - 2021


New - World map: Education spending, percent of GDP




Definition: 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.

Selected articles from our guide:

Are trade deficits bad for the economy?

Sources of economic growth

Currency values and investment returns

How to write an economics research paper

All articles

This site uses cookies.
Learn more here


OK