Expenditure on school books and teaching material as % of total expenditure in primary 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
17.7%
Ecuador
Lowest
0.0%
Burkina Faso
Median
1.8%
Years covered
22
1998–2019
Data points
284

What the numbers show

Expenditure on school books and teaching material as % of total expenditure in primary public institutions (%) is currently reported for 33 countries. The highest value is 17.7% in Ecuador; the lowest is 0.0% in Burkina Faso.

The median across all reporting countries is 1.8%, and the mean is 2.6%.

Over the past decade 7 countries rose and 21 fell. The largest increase was in Barbados (up 1,383.9%), and the largest decrease in Burkina Faso (down 100.0%).

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

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Ecuador 17.7% 2018 up 460.3% volatile
2 Ethiopia 9.9% 2015 up 376.3% volatile
3 Kenya 8.3% 2015 flat
4 Niger 4.6% 2017 down 9.6% flat
5 Kuwait 4.0% 2014 up 376.0% volatile
6 Sri Lanka 3.7% 2018 rising
7 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3.5% 2018 volatile
8 Côte d'Ivoire 3.2% 2018 down 28.6% falling
9 Mali 3.1% 2017 down 80.9% volatile
10 Colombia 2.4% 2018 down 50.2% rising
11 Guinea 2.3% 2019 down 68.2% volatile
12 Benin 2.1% 2015 volatile
13 Ghana 2.1% 2010 down 18.5% falling
14 Uganda 2.1% 2014 down 53.0% falling
15 Jamaica 1.9% 2019 up 6.8% falling
16 Nepal 1.9% 2015 down 27.5% falling
17 Barbados 1.8% 2007 up 1,383.9% rising
18 Turks and Caicos Islands 1.7% 2018 falling
19 Malaysia 1.5% 2019 down 54.7% falling
20 Lao People's Democratic Republic 1.4% 2014 up 90.3% rising
21 South Africa 1.4% 2019 down 48.6% falling
22 Cape Verde 0.8% 2016 up 13.8% volatile
23 Peru 0.7% 2019 down 80.4% volatile
24 Cuba 0.7% 2010 down 34.2% falling
25 Senegal 0.6% 2018 down 83.9% volatile
26 Mongolia 0.5% 2017 down 79.4% volatile
27 Guatemala 0.3% 2019 down 86.5% volatile
28 Togo 0.2% 2016 down 85.9% volatile
29 Republic of Moldova 0.2% 2018 down 70.4% falling
30 Andorra 0.2% 2019 down 18.4% volatile
31 Dominican Republic 0.2% 2019 down 83.9% volatile
32 Malawi 0.1% 2016 down 98.7% volatile
33 Burkina Faso 0.0% 2016 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/

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About this data

Indicator
Expenditure on school books and teaching material as % of total expenditure in primary public institutions (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
34 places, 284 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/