Statizoid

Government expenditure on pre-primary education as % of GDP (%) by country

Total general (local, regional and central) government expenditure on pre-primary education (current, capital, and transfers), expressed as a percentage of GDP. It includes expenditure funded by transfers from international sources to government. Divide total government expenditure for a given level of education...

Countries reporting
146
Highest
1.3%
Moldova
Lowest
0.0%
Turkey
Median
0.2%
Years covered
50
1970–2019
Data points
3,016

What the numbers show

Government expenditure on pre-primary education as % of GDP (%) is currently reported for 146 countries. The highest value is 1.3% in Moldova; the lowest is 0.0% in Turkey.

The median across all reporting countries is 0.2%, and the mean is 0.3%.

Over the past decade 80 countries rose and 36 fell. The largest increase was in Eswatini (up 4,322.9%), and the largest decrease in Democratic Republic of Congo (down 100.0%).

Government expenditure on pre-primary education as % of GDP: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Moldova 1.3% 2018 down 9.3% falling
2 Sweden 1.2% 2017 up 115.0% volatile
3 Ecuador 1.2% 2018 up 18.4% volatile
4 Belarus 1.1% 2017 up 17.8% rising
5 Mongolia 1.1% 2017 up 16.5% rising
6 Ukraine 0.9% 2017 up 29.5% rising
7 Bulgaria 0.9% 2017 up 33.3% falling
8 Iceland 0.9% 2017 up 41.9% rising
9 Russia 0.9% 2013 up 63.3% rising
10 Vietnam 0.9% 2013 up 107.6% rising
11 Cuba 0.9% 2010 up 18.1% rising
12 Israel 0.9% 2017 up 49.2% rising
13 Denmark 0.8% 2017 up 29.0% volatile
14 Latvia 0.8% 2017 up 22.9% rising
15 Kyrgyzstan 0.8% 2017 up 110.7% rising
16 Venezuela 0.8% 2015 up 190.2% volatile
17 Chile 0.7% 2017 up 113.9% volatile
18 Norway 0.7% 2017 up 130.5% volatile
19 Finland 0.7% 2017 up 120.9% volatile
20 Hungary 0.7% 2017 up 4.4% falling
21 France 0.7% 2017 — rising
22 San Marino 0.7% 2018 up 38.1% volatile
23 Belgium 0.7% 2017 up 17.6% rising
24 Poland 0.7% 2017 up 34.3% rising
25 Lithuania 0.6% 2017 up 11.9% falling
26 Peru 0.6% 2019 up 65.1% rising
27 Uruguay 0.6% 2018 up 132.4% volatile
28 Croatia 0.5% 2017 up 11.3% rising
29 Slovakia 0.5% 2017 up 48.7% rising
30 Czechia 0.5% 2017 up 45.7% rising
31 Mexico 0.5% 2011 up 37.6% rising
32 Slovenia 0.5% 2017 down 5.0% falling
33 Brazil 0.5% 2011 up 58.3% rising
34 Austria 0.5% 2017 up 29.4% rising
35 Germany 0.5% 2017 up 34.7% rising
36 Argentina 0.5% 2017 up 42.8% volatile
37 Luxembourg 0.5% 2017 up 1.9% volatile
38 Italy 0.5% 2017 up 4.7% rising
39 New Zealand 0.5% 2017 up 97.4% volatile
40 Puerto Rico 0.4% 2014 — volatile
41 Spain 0.4% 2017 down 23.2% volatile
42 Maldives 0.4% 2019 down 41.8% falling
43 Honduras 0.4% 2013 — volatile
44 Guatemala 0.4% 2019 up 32.7% volatile
45 Switzerland 0.4% 2017 up 132.7% rising
46 Saint Kitts and Nevis 0.4% 2015 — volatile
47 Portugal 0.4% 2017 up 14.4% volatile
48 South Korea 0.4% 2016 — volatile
49 Seychelles 0.4% 2016 up 103.5% volatile
50 Kuwait 0.4% 2014 down 24.1% volatile
51 Andorra 0.4% 2019 down 7.5% rising
52 El Salvador 0.4% 2018 down 8.8% rising
53 Guyana 0.4% 2012 down 62.1% volatile
54 Kazakhstan 0.4% 2016 up 186.9% volatile
55 Belize 0.4% 2018 up 276.7% volatile
56 Malta 0.4% 2017 down 0.6% volatile
57 Estonia 0.4% 2013 up 14.6% volatile
58 Netherlands 0.3% 2017 down 3.6% rising
59 United States 0.3% 2017 — flat
60 Ghana 0.3% 2014 down 34.2% volatile
61 Armenia 0.3% 2017 up 21.6% rising
62 Cyprus 0.3% 2017 up 6.2% volatile
63 Aruba 0.3% 2016 down 1.1% rising
64 Romania 0.3% 2017 down 17.1% rising
65 Paraguay 0.3% 2016 up 73.4% volatile
66 Costa Rica 0.3% 2019 down 16.3% volatile
67 Congo 0.3% 2010 up 1,059.9% volatile
68 Tajikistan 0.3% 2015 up 106.6% volatile
69 Niger 0.3% 2017 — volatile
70 Georgia 0.3% 2012 — volatile
71 Greece 0.3% 2017 — volatile
72 Colombia 0.2% 2018 down 12.6% volatile
73 Trinidad and Tobago 0.2% 2009 up 38.0% volatile
74 Dominican Republic 0.2% 2019 up 114.2% volatile
75 Hong Kong 0.2% 2019 up 85.1% volatile
76 Australia 0.2% 2017 up 433.3% rising
77 Thailand 0.2% 2013 down 46.8% volatile
78 United Kingdom 0.2% 2017 down 31.8% volatile
79 Azerbaijan 0.2% 2018 up 28.9% volatile
80 Canada 0.2% 2000 down 2.9% flat
81 Dominica 0.2% 2019 up 3,289.0% volatile
82 Jamaica 0.2% 2019 down 59.5% volatile
83 Tanzania 0.2% 2014 down 10.0% volatile
84 Laos 0.2% 2014 up 333.3% volatile
85 Liechtenstein 0.2% 2011 up 6.5% rising
86 Comoros 0.2% 2015 up 1,703.9% volatile
87 Nicaragua 0.2% 2010 up 578.6% volatile
88 Qatar 0.2% 2009 — volatile
89 Benin 0.1% 2015 up 257.6% volatile
90 Malaysia 0.1% 2019 up 89.3% volatile
91 Zimbabwe 0.1% 2014 — volatile
92 Oman 0.1% 2019 — volatile
93 Cote d'Ivoire 0.1% 2018 up 40.7% volatile
94 Cameroon 0.1% 2013 — volatile
95 Gabon 0.1% 2014 — volatile
96 Japan 0.1% 2017 up 14.8% rising
97 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0.1% 2015 up 384.6% volatile
98 Bermuda 0.1% 2017 down 30.0% rising
99 Panama 0.1% 2011 down 20.6% volatile
100 Kenya 0.1% 2015 down 11.6% volatile
101 South Africa 0.1% 2019 up 91.6% volatile
102 Ethiopia 0.1% 2015 up 3,258.8% volatile
103 Eswatini 0.1% 2014 up 4,322.9% volatile
104 Togo 0.1% 2016 — volatile
105 Nepal 0.1% 2015 — volatile
106 Ireland 0.1% 2015 up 2,593.8% volatile
107 India 0.1% 2013 up 13.0% rising
108 Serbia 0.1% 2018 up 261.7% volatile
109 Mauritius 0.1% 2019 up 31.8% volatile
110 Indonesia 0.1% 2014 up 184.6% volatile
111 Cape Verde 0.1% 2017 up 206.8% volatile
112 Cambodia 0.1% 2014 up 181.2% rising
113 Philippines 0.0% 2009 up 944.1% volatile
114 Monaco 0.0% 2016 down 23.3% flat
115 Rwanda 0.0% 2018 up 3.7% volatile
116 Namibia 0.0% 2017 up 15.1% volatile
117 Brunei 0.0% 2016 — volatile
118 Mauritania 0.0% 2019 up 338.2% volatile
119 Senegal 0.0% 2018 down 45.7% volatile
120 China 0.0% 1999 up 3.2% rising
121 Central African Republic 0.0% 2010 — volatile
122 Burkina Faso 0.0% 2016 up 220.2% volatile
123 Barbados 0.0% 2008 down 91.9% volatile
124 Singapore 0.0% 2017 — volatile
125 Fiji 0.0% 2011 up 52.1% volatile
126 Lesotho 0.0% 2018 down 5.8% volatile
127 Iran 0.0% 2018 down 58.4% volatile
128 Zambia 0.0% 2017 — volatile
129 Mali 0.0% 2017 down 72.1% volatile
130 Myanmar 0.0% 2017 — volatile
131 Jordan 0.0% 2019 down 58.2% volatile
132 Chad 0.0% 2011 — volatile
133 Madagascar 0.0% 2012 — volatile
134 Vanuatu 0.0% 2017 down 85.8% volatile
135 Guinea 0.0% 2018 — volatile
136 British Virgin Islands 0.0% 2015 down 12.4% volatile
137 Haiti 0.0% 1991 — volatile
138 Burundi 0.0% 2013 down 74.8% volatile
139 Botswana 0.0% 2009 — volatile
140 Afghanistan 0.0% 2017 — volatile
140 Democratic Republic of Congo 0.0% 2015 down 100.0% volatile
140 Saint Lucia 0.0% 2018 down 100.0% volatile
140 Morocco 0.0% 2013 — volatile
140 Malawi 0.0% 2016 — volatile
140 Tunisia 0.0% 2010 — volatile
140 Turkey 0.0% 2006 down 100.0% volatile

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Government expenditure on pre-primary education as % of GDP by country. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 01 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/government-expenditure-on-pre-primary-education-as-percent-of-gdp-percent/

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About this data

Indicator
Government expenditure on pre-primary education as % of GDP (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
156 places, 3,016 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Total general (local, regional and central) government expenditure on pre-primary education (current, capital, and transfers), expressed as a percentage of GDP. It includes expenditure funded by transfers from international sources to government. Divide total government expenditure for a given level of education (ex. primary, secondary, or all levels combined) by the GDP, and multiply by 100. A higher percentage of GDP spent on education shows a higher government priority for education, but also a higher capacity of the government to raise revenues for public spending, in relation to the size of the country's economy. When interpreting this indicator however, one should keep in mind in some countries, the private sector and/or households may fund a higher proportion of total funding for education, thus making government expenditure appear lower than in other countries. Limitations: In some instances data on total public expenditure on education refers only to the Ministry of Education, excluding other ministries which may also spend a part of their budget on educational activities. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/