Initial government funding per secondary student as a percentage of GDP per capita by country

Total general (local, regional and central, current and capital) initial government funding of education per student, which includes transfers paid (such as scholarships to students), but excludes transfers received, in this case international transfers to government for education (when foreign donors provide...

Countries reporting
108
Highest
52.4%
Tunisia
Lowest
4.9%
Monaco
Median
19.6%
Years covered
49
1971–2019
Data points
1,346

What the numbers show

Initial government funding per secondary student as a percentage of GDP per capita is currently reported for 108 countries. The highest value is 52.4% in Tunisia; the lowest is 4.9% in Monaco.

The median across all reporting countries is 19.6%, and the mean is 19.9%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 11.

Over the past decade 54 countries rose and 50 fell. The largest increase was in Serbia (up 155.8%), and the largest decrease in Niger (down 70.6%).

Initial government funding per secondary student as a percentage of: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Tunisia 52.4% 2015 up 139.4% rising
2 Cuba 51.9% 2010 up 25.9% rising
3 Cyprus 37.4% 2017 up 15.0% rising
4 Morocco 36.4% 2012 down 14.8% falling
5 Serbia 32.6% 2018 up 155.8% rising
6 Lesotho 32.2% 2018 down 33.6% falling
7 Burundi 30.8% 2013 down 41.4% falling
8 Bhutan 30.5% 2015 down 17.8% falling
9 Mauritius 30.4% 2019 up 115.5% rising
10 Ukraine 30.3% 2017 up 10.0% flat
11 Portugal 29.6% 2017 down 1.7% rising
12 Malta 29.2% 2017 up 4.9% rising
13 Jamaica 28.6% 2019 up 20.1% rising
14 Belize 28.4% 2018 up 26.8% rising
15 Eswatini 28.0% 2014 up 12.5% rising
16 Barbados 27.3% 2016 up 18.0% flat
17 Austria 27.1% 2017 up 6.5% flat
18 Oman 27.0% 2019 up 79.5% rising
19 Dominica 26.4% 2019 up 90.8% rising
20 Norway 26.1% 2017 up 1.8% flat
21 Mali 25.4% 2017 down 25.8% falling
22 Aruba 25.1% 2012 up 29.4% rising
23 Switzerland 24.5% 2015 down 3.6% flat
24 Costa Rica 24.1% 2019 up 14.3% rising
25 Malawi 24.0% 2016 up 66.6% rising
26 Latvia 23.6% 2017 up 8.4% rising
27 Czechia 23.5% 2017 up 16.3% rising
28 Sweden 23.4% 2017 down 18.7% flat
29 Germany 23.4% 2017 up 10.4% rising
30 Republic of Moldova 23.2% 2018 down 8.6% falling
31 South Africa 22.9% 2019 up 32.8% rising
32 Denmark 22.9% 2017 down 27.0% falling
33 Italy 22.9% 2015 down 9.8% falling
34 Slovenia 22.8% 2017 down 24.2% falling
35 Hong Kong 22.7% 2019 up 41.3% rising
36 Finland 22.7% 2017 down 23.2% flat
37 Brazil 21.8% 2017 up 23.8% rising
38 Kenya 21.7% 2006 up 47.6% rising
39 Bulgaria 21.6% 2017 up 11.2% rising
40 Greece 21.5% 2017 up 9.6% rising
41 Rwanda 21.4% 2018 down 25.8% falling
42 Singapore 21.4% 2018 up 52.7% rising
43 New Zealand 21.3% 2017 flat
44 Kazakhstan 21.2% 2016 falling
45 Hungary 21.1% 2017 down 7.7% flat
46 Poland 20.9% 2017 down 4.0% rising
47 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 20.8% 2017 down 18.2% flat
48 Slovakia 20.7% 2017 up 44.3% rising
49 Argentina 20.6% 2017 up 17.6% rising
50 Iceland 20.6% 2017 down 0.2% falling
51 Senegal 20.5% 2015 down 17.3% falling
52 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 20.2% 2018 up 16.0% falling
53 Puerto Rico 20.2% 2014 volatile
54 Cape Verde 19.7% 2017 up 19.5% flat
55 Israel 19.4% 2017 up 22.1% flat
56 Luxembourg 19.4% 2017 up 4.9% falling
57 Ghana 19.3% 2014 down 50.2% falling
58 Malaysia 19.2% 2019 down 10.1% flat
59 Estonia 19.1% 2016 down 13.1% falling
60 Spain 19.1% 2017 down 19.8% falling
61 Chile 18.7% 2017 up 48.0% rising
62 Turks and Caicos Islands 18.4% 2018 down 15.9% falling
63 Saint Lucia 18.1% 2018 up 27.7% rising
64 Thailand 18.0% 2013 up 21.8% falling
65 Cameroon 17.8% 2012 down 47.6% falling
66 Iran 17.5% 2017 down 6.6% rising
67 Colombia 17.5% 2018 up 18.9% rising
68 Kuwait 17.3% 2014 up 7.7% rising
69 Lithuania 16.9% 2017 down 7.3% falling
70 India 16.9% 2013 down 17.0% falling
71 Ethiopia 16.8% 2015 down 24.8% falling
72 Romania 16.4% 2017 up 4.7% flat
73 Uruguay 16.1% 2018 up 58.1% rising
74 Burkina Faso 15.7% 2016 down 20.6% rising
75 Jordan 15.5% 2019 down 6.0% falling
76 British Virgin Islands 15.5% 2018 up 0.0% rising
77 Namibia 15.4% 2008 down 50.4% falling
78 Australia 15.4% 2017 down 4.5% flat
79 Seychelles 15.3% 2016 down 3.1% falling
80 Peru 14.8% 2019 up 30.0% rising
81 Sierra Leone 14.3% 2017 up 9.3% falling
82 Syria 14.2% 2012 down 41.5% falling
83 El Salvador 14.2% 2018 up 27.2% rising
84 Côte d'Ivoire 13.6% 2018 falling
85 Chad 13.5% 2018 down 24.6% falling
86 Andorra 13.5% 2019 down 23.8% rising
87 Liechtenstein 13.3% 2011 up 21.3% rising
88 Mexico 13.3% 2017 up 0.0% rising
89 Dominican Republic 13.1% 2019 up 93.7% rising
90 Lao People's Democratic Republic 12.5% 2014 up 36.1% falling
91 Bermuda 11.9% 2015 down 15.0% falling
92 Paraguay 11.9% 2016 up 14.6% flat
93 Niger 11.7% 2017 down 70.6% falling
94 Afghanistan 11.3% 2017 up 2.9% rising
95 Ireland 11.0% 2017 down 51.0% rising
96 Indonesia 10.5% 2015 up 10.9% rising
97 Nepal 10.5% 2015 up 12.1% falling
98 Guyana 9.3% 2012 down 9.7% flat
99 Panama 9.2% 2011 down 33.0% falling
100 Philippines 8.7% 2008 down 18.3% falling
101 Mauritania 8.7% 2019 down 63.5% falling
102 Bangladesh 8.6% 2019 down 16.6% falling
103 Benin 7.9% 2015 down 52.3% falling
104 Madagascar 7.2% 2012 down 61.0% falling
105 Sri Lanka 6.7% 2018 down 8.2% rising
106 Ecuador 6.7% 2018 up 53.7% falling
107 Guatemala 5.5% 2019 down 10.7% rising
108 Monaco 4.9% 2016 down 20.3% rising

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Initial government funding per secondary student as a percentage of by country. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 30 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/initial-government-funding-per-secondary-student-as-a-percentage-of-gdp-per-capita/

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About this data

Indicator
Initial government funding per secondary student as a percentage of GDP per capita
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
108 places, 1,346 data points, 1971–2019
Last refreshed

Total general (local, regional and central, current and capital) initial government funding of education per student, which includes transfers paid (such as scholarships to students), but excludes transfers received, in this case international transfers to government for education (when foreign donors provide education sector budget support or other support integrated in the government budget). Calculation Method: Total general (local, regional and central) government expenditure (current and capital) on a given level of education (primary, secondary, etc) minus international transfers to government for education, divided by the number of student enrolled at that level of education. This is then expressed as a share of GDP per capita. Limitations: In some instances data on total government 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. There are also cases where it may not be possible to separate international transfers to government from general government expenditure on education, in which cases they have not been subtracted in the formula. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/