Statizoid

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

Total general (local, regional and central) government expenditure on tertiary 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
160
Highest
1,186,150.0%
Ecuador
Lowest
0.0%
Saint Lucia
Median
0.8%
Years covered
50
1970–2019
Data points
3,221

What the numbers show

Government expenditure on tertiary education as % of GDP (%) is currently reported for 160 countries. The highest value is 1,186,150.0% in Ecuador; the lowest is 0.0% in Saint Lucia.

The median across all reporting countries is 0.8%, and the mean is 7,414.3%.

Over the past decade 80 countries rose and 65 fell. The largest increase was in Ecuador (up 90,419,200.0%), and the largest decrease in Saint Lucia (down 100.0%).

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

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Ecuador 1,186,150.0% 2019 up 90,419,200.0% volatile
2 Botswana 4.0% 2009 — volatile
3 Sierra Leone 3.1% 2019 up 464.1% volatile
4 Cuba 3.0% 2007 up 192.2% rising
5 Denmark 2.5% 2017 up 10.3% rising
6 Ethiopia 2.3% 2015 up 31.0% volatile
7 Puerto Rico 2.2% 2014 — rising
8 Norway 2.1% 2017 up 1.1% rising
9 Egypt 1.9% 1996 up 27.4% rising
10 Sweden 1.8% 2017 up 10.1% rising
11 Austria 1.7% 2017 up 19.5% rising
12 Finland 1.7% 2017 down 6.9% rising
13 Canada 1.7% 2017 down 6.0% falling
14 Namibia 1.6% 2014 up 184.6% rising
15 Netherlands 1.6% 2017 — falling
16 Senegal 1.6% 2018 up 62.2% rising
17 Tunisia 1.6% 2015 up 1.4% rising
18 Costa Rica 1.6% 2019 up 36.7% falling
19 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 1.6% 2009 down 10.6% flat
20 Brazil 1.5% 2017 up 89.0% rising
21 Burkina Faso 1.5% 2016 up 242.6% volatile
22 New Zealand 1.5% 2017 — rising
23 United States of America 1.5% 2017 — flat
24 Burundi 1.5% 2013 up 93.9% rising
25 Belgium 1.5% 2017 up 7.5% rising
26 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 1.4% 2017 up 69.6% falling
27 Saudi Arabia 1.4% 1998 down 32.7% falling
28 Iceland 1.4% 2017 up 4.2% rising
29 Chile 1.4% 2017 up 178.1% falling
30 Switzerland 1.4% 2017 up 13.9% rising
31 Ukraine 1.4% 2017 down 27.0% rising
32 Hong Kong 1.3% 2019 down 33.6% rising
33 Oman 1.3% 2016 up 380.0% volatile
34 Australia 1.3% 2017 up 22.7% falling
35 Malta 1.3% 2017 up 39.0% volatile
36 Germany 1.3% 2017 up 13.0% rising
37 Barbados 1.2% 2017 down 20.9% rising
38 Syria 1.2% 2009 up 43.5% falling
39 Uruguay 1.2% 2018 up 96.0% rising
40 France 1.2% 2017 — rising
41 Kuwait 1.2% 2006 down 40.2% volatile
42 Argentina 1.2% 2017 up 52.3% rising
43 Nicaragua 1.2% 2010 — volatile
44 Cyprus 1.2% 2017 down 20.7% volatile
45 Estonia 1.1% 2017 up 12.0% rising
46 South Africa 1.1% 2019 up 72.4% falling
47 Iran, Islamic Republic of 1.1% 2018 up 38.1% rising
48 Malawi 1.1% 2016 up 4.0% rising
49 India 1.1% 2013 up 51.1% rising
50 Poland 1.1% 2017 up 16.3% rising
51 Morocco 1.1% 2009 up 20.5% rising
52 Macao 1.1% 2018 up 30.3% rising
53 Colombia 1.0% 2018 up 19.7% rising
54 Zimbabwe 1.0% 2014 up 358.3% volatile
55 Aruba 1.0% 2016 up 89.0% rising
56 Gabon 1.0% 2014 — volatile
57 Serbia 1.0% 2018 down 18.4% falling
58 Ireland 1.0% 2017 down 11.6% rising
59 Seychelles 1.0% 2016 up 12.1% volatile
60 Malaysia 0.9% 2019 down 55.9% rising
61 Slovenia 0.9% 2017 down 20.7% rising
62 Eswatini 0.9% 2014 down 34.5% rising
63 Spain 0.9% 2017 down 3.9% rising
64 Jamaica 0.9% 2019 down 26.7% rising
65 Mexico 0.9% 2017 up 5.2% rising
66 Israel 0.9% 2017 down 6.6% falling
67 Cape Verde 0.9% 2017 up 22.0% flat
68 Republic of Korea 0.9% 2016 — volatile
69 Togo 0.9% 2017 up 17.6% falling
70 Honduras 0.9% 2015 down 1.3% rising
71 Türkiye 0.9% 2006 up 12.3% rising
72 Fiji 0.9% 2013 up 3.1% rising
73 Singapore 0.9% 2018 down 3.1% rising
74 Croatia 0.9% 2017 up 9.9% rising
75 Viet Nam 0.8% 2013 down 21.7% falling
76 Maldives 0.8% 2016 up 125.7% rising
77 Brunei Darussalam 0.8% 2016 up 67.6% volatile
78 British Virgin Islands 0.8% 2018 down 19.9% rising
79 Ghana 0.8% 2014 down 44.3% volatile
80 Bulgaria 0.8% 2017 up 33.9% flat
81 Paraguay 0.8% 2016 up 52.9% rising
82 Hungary 0.8% 2017 down 21.0% falling
83 Portugal 0.8% 2017 down 28.2% rising
84 Belarus 0.8% 2017 down 24.0% falling
85 Slovakia 0.8% 2017 up 2.3% rising
86 South Sudan 0.8% 2016 up 219.2% volatile
87 Russian Federation 0.8% 2017 down 8.2% rising
88 Lithuania 0.8% 2017 down 24.6% rising
89 Italy 0.8% 2017 up 3.6% rising
90 Tanzania, United Republic of 0.7% 2014 up 8.8% rising
91 Romania 0.7% 2017 down 34.5% rising
92 Belize 0.7% 2018 up 34.3% rising
93 Turks and Caicos Islands 0.7% 2018 down 59.5% falling
94 Congo 0.7% 2013 down 13.7% falling
95 Czechia 0.7% 2017 down 28.6% rising
96 Benin 0.7% 2015 up 24.8% rising
97 Lebanon 0.7% 2013 down 3.8% rising
98 Panama 0.7% 2012 down 40.9% rising
99 Peru 0.7% 2019 up 54.2% rising
100 Latvia 0.7% 2017 down 19.7% rising
101 Kenya 0.7% 2015 down 21.5% rising
102 Albania 0.7% 2017 — rising
103 Mali 0.7% 2017 up 19.8% rising
104 Republic of Moldova 0.6% 2018 down 57.9% falling
105 Thailand 0.6% 2013 down 22.8% rising
106 Pakistan 0.6% 2017 — rising
107 Japan 0.6% 2017 up 4.0% rising
108 Bhutan 0.6% 2014 down 39.1% falling
109 Greece 0.6% 2017 down 56.7% volatile
110 Rwanda 0.6% 2018 down 31.3% rising
111 Niger 0.6% 2017 up 89.3% volatile
112 Indonesia 0.6% 2015 up 45.8% rising
113 Tajikistan 0.5% 2015 up 100.6% rising
114 Afghanistan 0.5% 2015 up 65.3% rising
115 Lesotho 0.5% 2018 down 88.2% volatile
116 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 0.5% 2015 up 41.2% flat
117 North Macedonia 0.5% 2002 down 41.2% falling
118 Luxembourg 0.5% 2017 up 10,034.6% volatile
119 Côte d'Ivoire 0.5% 2018 down 55.7% falling
120 Bangladesh 0.5% 2019 up 74.3% rising
121 China 0.5% 1999 down 12.6% rising
122 Azerbaijan 0.4% 2018 up 62.5% rising
123 Sri Lanka 0.4% 2018 up 17.8% falling
124 Guatemala 0.4% 2019 up 25.5% rising
125 Trinidad and Tobago 0.4% 1990 down 36.0% falling
126 Georgia 0.4% 2018 up 22.0% volatile
127 Saint Kitts and Nevis 0.4% 2015 — volatile
128 Lao People's Democratic Republic 0.4% 2014 up 13.7% rising
129 Guinea 0.4% 2018 down 26.4% rising
130 Nepal 0.4% 2015 up 24.9% falling
131 Mauritania 0.4% 2019 up 17.7% rising
132 Armenia 0.4% 2017 down 1.8% rising
133 Vanuatu 0.3% 2008 down 32.4% rising
134 Zambia 0.3% 2017 down 25.6% falling
135 Mauritius 0.3% 2019 down 13.0% falling
136 El Salvador 0.3% 2018 down 7.3% rising
137 Uganda 0.3% 2014 down 46.5% falling
138 Timor-Leste 0.3% 2014 down 70.6% volatile
139 Philippines 0.3% 2009 down 30.6% falling
140 Central African Republic 0.3% 2011 down 6.4% falling
141 Dominican Republic 0.3% 2007 up 80.5% volatile
142 Jordan 0.3% 2019 — volatile
143 Myanmar 0.3% 2019 up 87.7% falling
144 Cameroon 0.3% 2013 down 9.5% volatile
145 Comoros 0.3% 2015 up 53.0% volatile
146 Mongolia 0.3% 2017 down 67.1% falling
147 Bermuda 0.3% 2017 down 28.5% volatile
148 Kazakhstan 0.2% 2018 down 31.8% falling
149 Gambia 0.2% 2015 up 147.8% volatile
150 Chad 0.2% 2018 down 19.0% volatile
151 Qatar 0.2% 1978 up 2.6% rising
152 Angola 0.2% 2006 — falling
153 Kyrgyzstan 0.2% 2017 down 82.2% falling
154 Guyana 0.2% 2012 down 60.4% volatile
155 Andorra 0.1% 2019 up 17.6% rising
156 Cambodia 0.1% 2013 up 117.6% rising
157 Haiti 0.1% 1991 down 18.2% flat
158 Monaco 0.1% 2004 — volatile
159 Madagascar 0.0% 2016 down 100.0% volatile
160 Saint Lucia 0.0% 2018 down 100.0% volatile

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Government expenditure on tertiary 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-tertiary-education-as-percent-of-gdp-percent/

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About this data

Indicator
Government expenditure on tertiary education as % of GDP (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
160 places, 3,221 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

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