Government expenditure on tertiary education as % of GDP in Kenya

Kenya: Government expenditure on tertiary education as % of GDP was 0.7% in 2015. ▲ Rising

Latest (2015)
0.7%
Change on year
down 4.7%
World rank
101st
of 160 countries
All-time high
1.9%
in 1991
All-time low
0.6%
in 1974
Years of data
31
1971–2015

Government expenditure on tertiary education as % of GDP in Kenya, 1971–2015

0.511.521971199320151971: 0.593 %1972: 0.614 %1973: 0.691 %1974: 0.592 %1975: 0.792 %1976: 0.643 %1977: 0.669 %1980: 0.961 %1981: 0.928 %1982: 0.85 %1983: 0.863 %1984: 0.663 %1985: 0.725 %1986: 0.857 %1988: 1.1 %1989: 0.986 %1991: 1.9 %1992: 1.2 %1993: 1.3 %1994: 1 %1999: 0.61 %2000: 0.607 %2001: 0.681 %2003: 0.789 %2004: 0.877 %2006: 1.1 %2011: 0.682 %2012: 0.97 %2013: 0.769 %2014: 0.724 %2015: 0.689 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2015, government expenditure on tertiary education as % of gdp in Kenya stood at 0.7%.

That represents a change of down 4.7% on the previous year and down 21.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government expenditure on tertiary education as % of gdp in Kenya peaked at 1.9% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 1974.

Kenya ranks 101st of 160 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.

Government expenditure on tertiary education as % of GDP in Kenya, year by year

Annual values for Government expenditure on tertiary education as % of GDP (%) in Kenya, 1971 to 2015.
Year % Change
1971 0.6%
1972 0.6% +3.5%
1973 0.7% +12.5%
1974 0.6% -14.3%
1975 0.8% +33.9%
1976 0.6% -18.8%
1977 0.7% +4.0%
1980 1.0% +43.7%
1981 0.9% -3.4%
1982 0.9% -8.4%
1983 0.9% +1.5%
1984 0.7% -23.2%
1985 0.7% +9.3%
1986 0.9% +18.2%
1988 1.1% +24.0%
1989 1.0% -7.2%
1991 1.9% +90.4%
1992 1.2% -35.2%
1993 1.3% +5.3%
1994 1.0% -21.3%
1999 0.6% -39.6%
2000 0.6% -0.4%
2001 0.7% +12.2%
2003 0.8% +15.8%
2004 0.9% +11.2%
2006 1.1% +23.9%
2011 0.7% -37.3%
2012 1.0% +42.3%
2013 0.8% -20.7%
2014 0.7% -5.9%
2015 0.7% -4.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 0.7% 0.6% 0.8% 7
1980s 0.9% 0.7% 1.1% 9
1990s 1.2% 0.6% 1.9% 5
2000s 0.8% 0.6% 1.1% 5
2010s 0.8% 0.7% 1.0% 5

Countries ranked near Kenya

  1. 98 Panama 0.7% compare
  2. 99 Peru 0.7% compare
  3. 100 Latvia 0.7% compare
  4. 102 Albania 0.7% compare
  5. 103 Mali 0.7% compare
  6. 104 Republic of Moldova 0.6% compare

See the full ranking of 160 places →

More reference data data for Kenya

All data for Kenya →

Frequently asked questions

What is government expenditure on tertiary education as % of gdp in Kenya?
Government expenditure on tertiary education as % of gdp in Kenya was 0.7% in 2015, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest government expenditure on tertiary education as % of gdp recorded in Kenya?
The highest recorded value was 1.9% in 1991.
What is the lowest government expenditure on tertiary education as % of gdp recorded in Kenya?
The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 1974.
How does Kenya rank for government expenditure on tertiary education as % of gdp?
Kenya ranks 101st out of 160 countries with data for 2015.
Is government expenditure on tertiary education as % of gdp rising or falling in Kenya?
Over the last ten years it is down 21.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Kenya data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Government expenditure on tertiary education as % of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Government expenditure on tertiary education as % of GDP in Kenya. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 04 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/government-expenditure-on-tertiary-education-as-percent-of-gdp-percent/kenya/

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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/