Barbados vs Malaysia: Government spending on education overall vs. primary education
Barbados
3.6%
in 2024
Malaysia
3.5%
in 2023
Barbados rank
124th
Malaysia rank
126th
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education over time
- Barbados
- Malaysia
How they compare
Barbados currently reports 3.6% against 3.5% in Malaysia, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 10 times across 23 shared years of data; in 1971 it was Barbados ahead.
Barbados ranks 124th and Malaysia ranks 126th of 199 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Barbados averaged higher in 2 and Malaysia in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Barbados | Malaysia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.2% | 4.6% | 1.6% | Barbados |
| 1990s | 4.3% | 5.7% | 1.3% | Malaysia |
| 2000s | 5.5% | 6.1% | 0.6% | Malaysia |
| 2010s | 4.8% | 4.9% | 0.2% | Malaysia |
| 2020s | 4.1% | 3.8% | 0.3% | Barbados |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher government spending on education overall vs. primary education, Barbados or Malaysia?
- Barbados, at 3.6% against 3.5% in Malaysia as of 2024.
- What is the difference in government spending on education overall vs. primary education between Barbados and Malaysia?
- 0.1%, with Barbados ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Barbados and Malaysia?
- 23 years are reported by both, from 1971 to 2023.
- How do Barbados and Malaysia rank globally for government spending on education overall vs. primary education?
- Barbados ranks 124th and Malaysia ranks 126th of 199 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Government spending on education overall vs. primary education. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Total annual general government spending on all levels of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP.