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Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP (%) by country

Total general (local, regional and central) government expenditure on secondary 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....

Countries reporting
152
Highest
4.7%
Tunisia
Lowest
0.2%
South Sudan
Median
1.4%
Years covered
50
1970–2019
Data points
2,921

What the numbers show

Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP (%) is currently reported for 152 countries. The highest value is 4.7% in Tunisia; the lowest is 0.2% in South Sudan.

The median across all reporting countries is 1.4%, and the mean is 1.5%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 25.

Over the past decade 60 countries rose and 72 fell. The largest increase was in Liberia (up 594.1%), and the largest decrease in Fiji (down 66.9%).

Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Tunisia 4.7% 2015 up 76.0% rising
2 Cuba 3.7% 2010 up 27.8% rising
3 Congo 3.3% 2010 up 242.8% falling
4 Botswana 3.1% 2009 — rising
5 Bhutan 3.1% 2015 down 15.2% flat
6 Belize 3.0% 2018 up 30.9% rising
7 Mauritius 2.9% 2019 up 101.0% rising
8 Belgium 2.8% 2013 — falling
9 Morocco 2.7% 2013 up 14.3% falling
10 Brunei Darussalam 2.7% 2016 up 181.2% volatile
11 Brazil 2.5% 2017 up 16.0% rising
12 Serbia 2.5% 2018 up 136.3% rising
13 Costa Rica 2.4% 2019 up 27.3% rising
14 Eswatini 2.4% 2014 up 59.1% rising
15 Cyprus 2.4% 2017 down 12.5% rising
16 Oman 2.4% 2019 up 40.8% rising
17 France 2.3% 2017 — rising
18 Finland 2.3% 2017 down 2.9% rising
19 New Zealand 2.3% 2017 — rising
20 Viet Nam 2.2% 2013 up 27.9% rising
21 Portugal 2.2% 2017 up 14.5% rising
22 Norway 2.2% 2017 down 3.1% rising
23 Kenya 2.2% 2015 up 38.4% rising
24 Argentina 2.2% 2017 up 23.3% volatile
25 Sweden 2.1% 2017 down 11.5% rising
26 Denmark 2.1% 2017 down 22.4% rising
27 Austria 2.1% 2017 down 11.2% falling
28 Iceland 2.1% 2017 down 7.5% rising
29 Lesotho 2.1% 2018 down 15.3% rising
30 Netherlands 2.1% 2017 — falling
31 Cape Verde 2.1% 2017 down 1.9% falling
32 Kazakhstan 2.0% 2016 — falling
33 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 2.0% 2017 down 9.5% rising
34 Germany 2.0% 2017 down 2.9% falling
35 Jamaica 2.0% 2019 down 13.4% rising
36 Republic of Moldova 2.0% 2018 down 36.3% falling
37 Barbados 1.9% 2016 up 8.3% falling
38 South Africa 1.9% 2019 up 19.5% rising
39 Malta 1.9% 2017 down 27.1% rising
40 Algeria 1.9% 2003 — rising
41 Israel 1.9% 2017 up 22.9% falling
42 Aruba 1.8% 2016 up 46.6% rising
43 Switzerland 1.8% 2015 down 7.4% rising
44 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1.8% 2018 down 0.3% rising
45 Dominica 1.8% 2019 up 27.2% volatile
46 Hungary 1.7% 2017 down 18.2% flat
47 Italy 1.7% 2015 down 11.7% rising
48 United States of America 1.7% 2017 — flat
49 Syria 1.7% 2015 down 1.0% rising
50 Czechia 1.7% 2017 down 6.2% falling
51 Slovakia 1.7% 2017 up 3.7% rising
52 Colombia 1.7% 2018 up 7.1% rising
53 Republic of Korea 1.7% 2016 — rising
54 Ukraine 1.7% 2017 down 5.5% rising
55 Ghana 1.7% 2014 down 35.4% rising
56 Uruguay 1.7% 2018 up 59.8% rising
57 Australia 1.7% 2017 down 8.8% falling
58 Zimbabwe 1.6% 2014 — volatile
59 Slovenia 1.6% 2017 down 19.9% falling
60 Trinidad and Tobago 1.6% 2009 up 70.6% falling
61 Burundi 1.6% 2013 up 67.3% rising
62 India 1.6% 2013 up 5.6% falling
63 Luxembourg 1.6% 2017 up 7.3% rising
64 Malaysia 1.6% 2019 down 20.2% falling
65 Spain 1.6% 2017 down 3.7% rising
66 Chile 1.5% 2017 up 25.0% rising
67 Bulgaria 1.5% 2017 down 6.7% rising
68 Mexico 1.5% 2017 up 8.8% rising
69 Puerto Rico 1.5% 2014 — volatile
70 Vanuatu 1.5% 2017 down 21.6% falling
71 Honduras 1.5% 2013 — volatile
72 Sierra Leone 1.5% 2019 up 86.8% rising
73 Latvia 1.5% 2017 down 24.3% falling
74 Lithuania 1.4% 2017 down 37.7% falling
75 Cameroon 1.4% 2012 down 5.6% rising
76 Saint Kitts and Nevis 1.4% 2016 — falling
77 Mali 1.4% 2017 down 5.4% rising
78 Kuwait 1.4% 2014 down 30.0% volatile
79 Liberia 1.4% 2018 up 594.1% volatile
80 Malawi 1.4% 2016 up 101.2% rising
81 Iran, Islamic Republic of 1.4% 2018 down 28.9% rising
82 Poland 1.4% 2017 down 25.7% falling
83 Greece 1.3% 2017 up 0.3% rising
84 Saint Lucia 1.3% 2018 down 0.8% falling
85 Japan 1.3% 2017 up 6.1% falling
86 Estonia 1.3% 2017 down 31.9% falling
87 Peru 1.3% 2019 up 22.3% rising
88 Jordan 1.3% 2019 down 26.6% falling
89 Armenia 1.3% 2017 down 9.6% flat
90 Romania 1.2% 2017 down 15.0% flat
91 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 1.2% 2015 up 91.8% volatile
92 Nepal 1.2% 2015 up 79.6% rising
93 Thailand 1.2% 2013 up 27.2% rising
94 El Salvador 1.2% 2018 up 24.4% rising
95 Liechtenstein 1.2% 2011 up 15.7% rising
96 Seychelles 1.2% 2016 down 22.7% volatile
97 Mongolia 1.2% 2017 down 15.8% falling
98 Tonga 1.2% 2004 down 8.8% volatile
99 Rwanda 1.2% 2018 up 34.8% volatile
100 Turks and Caicos Islands 1.1% 2018 down 5.0% falling
101 Dominican Republic 1.1% 2019 up 73.9% volatile
102 Côte d'Ivoire 1.1% 2018 down 15.8% falling
103 Lao People's Democratic Republic 1.1% 2014 up 111.3% falling
104 Ireland 1.1% 2017 down 33.1% falling
105 Paraguay 1.1% 2016 up 11.1% rising
106 Guyana 1.1% 2012 down 46.2% volatile
107 Hong Kong 1.0% 2019 down 12.0% rising
108 North Macedonia 1.0% 1996 — falling
109 Pakistan 1.0% 2015 — rising
110 Sri Lanka 1.0% 2018 down 1.9% falling
111 Indonesia 1.0% 2015 up 26.6% flat
112 Burkina Faso 1.0% 2016 up 109.7% rising
113 British Virgin Islands 0.9% 2018 down 23.7% volatile
114 Afghanistan 0.9% 2017 down 2.8% rising
115 Zambia 0.9% 2017 up 246.0% volatile
116 Maldives 0.9% 2019 down 40.6% falling
117 Ethiopia 0.9% 2015 down 20.1% rising
118 Cambodia 0.8% 2014 up 334.4% rising
119 Bangladesh 0.8% 2019 up 7.2% rising
120 Senegal 0.8% 2018 down 15.3% rising
121 Andorra 0.8% 2019 down 2.6% rising
122 Togo 0.8% 2016 down 32.0% falling
123 Albania 0.8% 2017 — rising
124 Gabon 0.8% 2014 — falling
125 Philippines 0.8% 2009 up 9.2% rising
126 Benin 0.8% 2015 down 13.6% rising
127 Ecuador 0.7% 2018 up 60.0% volatile
128 Myanmar 0.7% 2019 up 300.0% rising
129 Gambia 0.7% 2015 up 343.9% falling
130 Panama 0.7% 2011 down 34.6% rising
131 China 0.7% 1999 up 9.5% falling
132 Comoros 0.7% 2015 down 22.2% falling
133 Bermuda 0.7% 2017 down 35.9% falling
134 Fiji 0.7% 2011 down 66.9% falling
135 Singapore 0.7% 2018 down 7.9% falling
136 Tanzania, United Republic of 0.6% 2014 up 94.4% flat
137 Namibia 0.6% 2017 down 57.2% falling
138 Nicaragua 0.6% 2010 up 147.7% falling
139 Qatar 0.5% 2009 — falling
140 Mauritania 0.5% 2019 down 28.9% flat
141 Türkiye 0.5% 1995 up 27.2% falling
142 Guinea 0.5% 2018 up 119.1% falling
143 Uganda 0.5% 2014 down 44.7% volatile
144 Niger 0.5% 2017 down 22.8% rising
145 Madagascar 0.5% 2012 down 27.7% falling
146 Chad 0.4% 2018 down 31.7% rising
147 Monaco 0.4% 2016 down 24.3% rising
148 Lebanon 0.4% 2013 — volatile
149 Guatemala 0.4% 2019 down 2.2% rising
150 Central African Republic 0.3% 2010 — falling
151 Haiti 0.2% 1991 down 30.3% falling
152 South Sudan 0.2% 2016 up 66.0% rising

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Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP by country. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 31 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/government-expenditure-on-secondary-education-as-percent-of-gdp-percent/

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About this data

Indicator
Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
152 places, 2,921 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Total general (local, regional and central) government expenditure on secondary 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/