Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Government spending on education overall vs. primary education was 2.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Bangladesh, 1979–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Bangladesh is 2.0%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 5.9% on the previous year and down 3.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Bangladesh peaked at 2.2% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 0.9%, in 1980.
Bangladesh ranks 178th of 199 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 38 years of available data.
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Bangladesh, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 1.1% | — |
| 1980 | 0.9% | -17.1% |
| 1981 | 1.1% | +14.3% |
| 1982 | 1.0% | -5.6% |
| 1983 | 1.0% | +2.1% |
| 1984 | 1.2% | +18.4% |
| 1985 | 1.3% | +3.9% |
| 1986 | 1.3% | +5.7% |
| 1987 | 1.5% | +12.7% |
| 1990 | 1.5% | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 1.4% | -6.2% |
| 1992 | 1.6% | +14.5% |
| 1993 | 1.7% | +3.7% |
| 1997 | 2.0% | +15.4% |
| 1999 | 2.1% | +9.2% |
| 2000 | 2.1% | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 2.2% | +2.2% |
| 2002 | 2.0% | -7.1% |
| 2003 | 2.1% | +2.6% |
| 2004 | 1.9% | -6.2% |
| 2006 | 2.1% | +9.9% |
| 2007 | 2.2% | +3.3% |
| 2008 | 2.1% | -6.7% |
| 2009 | 1.9% | -5.6% |
| 2011 | 2.1% | +10.0% |
| 2012 | 2.2% | +2.0% |
| 2013 | 2.0% | -9.6% |
| 2014 | 2.1% | +6.7% |
| 2015 | 1.9% | -10.8% |
| 2016 | 1.3% | -31.5% |
| 2017 | 2.1% | +64.9% |
| 2018 | 2.1% | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 1.1% | -46.0% |
| 2020 | 2.1% | +89.2% |
| 2021 | 2.2% | +1.5% |
| 2022 | 2.1% | -3.9% |
| 2023 | 2.2% | +3.7% |
| 2024 | 2.0% | -5.9% |
Bangladesh compared with similar countries
- Bangladesh's 2.0% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.0%, 51% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Bangladesh's 2.0% is below the median for South Asia, which is 3.9%, 52% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Bangladesh changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +89.2% | 1.1% | 2.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1 |
| 1980s | 1.2% | 0.9% | 1.5% | 8 |
| 1990s | 1.7% | 1.4% | 2.1% | 6 |
| 2000s | 2.1% | 1.9% | 2.2% | 9 |
| 2010s | 1.9% | 1.1% | 2.2% | 9 |
| 2020s | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Bangladesh
More reference data data for Bangladesh
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.46 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 9.09 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 24.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 24.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 8.25 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 2.5 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 37.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 105.98 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 14.25 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Bangladesh?
- Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Bangladesh was 2.0% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Bangladesh?
- The highest recorded value was 2.2% in 2007.
- What is the lowest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Bangladesh?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9% in 1980.
- How does Bangladesh rank for government spending on education overall vs. primary education?
- Bangladesh ranks 178th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is government spending on education overall vs. primary education rising or falling in Bangladesh?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bangladesh data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Government spending on education overall vs. primary education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 38 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total annual general government spending on all levels of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP.