Expenditure on school books and teaching material as % of total expenditure in secondary public institutions (%) by country

Expenditure on school books and teaching material expressed as a percentage of direct expenditure in public educational institutions (instructional and non-instructional) of the specified level of education. Financial aid to students and other transfers are excluded from direct expenditure. Divide expenditure on...

Countries reporting
33
Highest
65.2%
Guinea
Lowest
0.0%
Barbados
Median
1.8%
Years covered
22
1998–2019
Data points
277

What the numbers show

Expenditure on school books and teaching material as % of total expenditure in secondary public institutions (%) is currently reported for 33 countries. The highest value is 65.2% in Guinea; the lowest is 0.0% in Barbados.

The median across all reporting countries is 1.8%, and the mean is 5.8%.

Over the past decade 8 countries rose and 18 fell. The largest increase was in Lao People's Democratic Republic (up 1,359.9%), and the largest decrease in Barbados (down 100.0%).

Expenditure on school books and teaching material as % of total: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Guinea 65.2% 2019 up 1,266.3% volatile
2 Kenya 18.2% 2015 falling
3 Ecuador 17.7% 2018 up 460.3% volatile
4 Mali 14.4% 2017 down 24.0% rising
5 Cambodia 13.3% 2014 down 44.4% falling
6 Niger 11.5% 2017 up 1.3% volatile
7 Ethiopia 11.5% 2015 up 245.1% volatile
8 Ghana 4.3% 2010 up 104.5% rising
9 Guatemala 4.1% 2019 up 458.4% volatile
10 Nepal 3.7% 2015 rising
11 Colombia 3.3% 2018 down 30.2% rising
12 Malawi 2.9% 2016 down 74.3% volatile
13 Sri Lanka 2.9% 2018 rising
14 Kazakhstan 2.0% 2016 falling
15 Lao People's Democratic Republic 1.9% 2014 up 1,359.9% volatile
16 Jamaica 1.8% 2019 down 1.3% falling
17 Malaysia 1.8% 2019 up 29.1% falling
18 Uganda 1.8% 2014 volatile
19 South Africa 1.6% 2019 down 43.3% falling
20 Togo 1.3% 2016 down 35.9% volatile
21 Oman 1.2% 2018 down 8.6% falling
22 Turks and Caicos Islands 0.9% 2018 down 58.7% falling
23 Senegal 0.9% 2018 down 51.3% volatile
24 Kuwait 0.7% 2014 down 38.1% volatile
25 Mongolia 0.7% 2017 down 66.6% volatile
26 Cuba 0.6% 2010 down 39.9% falling
27 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0.6% 2018 volatile
28 Dominican Republic 0.5% 2019 down 51.6% volatile
29 Republic of Moldova 0.2% 2018 down 72.5% falling
30 Peru 0.2% 2019 down 72.2% volatile
31 Andorra 0.1% 2019 down 6.1% volatile
32 Côte d'Ivoire 0.0% 2018 volatile
32 Barbados 0.0% 2012 down 100.0% volatile

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Expenditure on school books and teaching material as % of total by country. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 30 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/expenditure-on-school-books-and-teaching-material-as-percent-of-total-expenditure-in-2/

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About this data

Indicator
Expenditure on school books and teaching material as % of total expenditure in secondary public institutions (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
34 places, 277 data points, 1998–2019
Last refreshed

Expenditure on school books and teaching material expressed as a percentage of direct expenditure in public educational institutions (instructional and non-instructional) of the specified level of education. Financial aid to students and other transfers are excluded from direct expenditure. Divide expenditure on school books and teaching material in public institutions of a given level of education (ex. primary, secondary, or all levels combined) by total expenditure (current and capital) in public institutions of the same level of education, and multiply by 100. Limitations: Although countries responding to the UIS questionnaire on educational expenditure are required to follow common definitions, in some cases government budget classifications may differ. It is also often difficult to identify expenditure on school books and teaching material, as not all accounting systems include such a classification. In some poorer countries, foreign donors and/or households may fund a large portion of expenditure on school books and teaching material, and where country respondents only have data on government expenditure, the amounts may be underestimated or missing entirely. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/