Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Congo
Congo: Government spending on education overall vs. primary education was 3.3% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Congo, 1970–2023
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 Congo is 3.3%, measured in 2023.
The figure is up 22.5% on the previous year and down 33.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Congo peaked at 8.4% in 1978 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 2005.
That places Congo 132nd out of 199 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 28 years of available data.
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Congo, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 5.7% | — |
| 1971 | 5.6% | -3.2% |
| 1973 | 5.2% | -5.6% |
| 1975 | 7.7% | +47.8% |
| 1978 | 8.4% | +8.7% |
| 1979 | 7.0% | -16.3% |
| 1980 | 6.4% | -9.6% |
| 1994 | 6.4% | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 4.9% | -23.0% |
| 1998 | 4.1% | -17.1% |
| 2002 | 3.2% | -21.1% |
| 2003 | 2.8% | -11.6% |
| 2004 | 2.3% | -19.3% |
| 2005 | 1.7% | -26.5% |
| 2010 | 5.7% | +238.3% |
| 2011 | 2.6% | -53.5% |
| 2012 | 2.7% | +3.5% |
| 2013 | 5.0% | +83.0% |
| 2014 | 3.2% | -36.5% |
| 2015 | 3.1% | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 4.9% | +55.2% |
| 2017 | 4.2% | -14.3% |
| 2018 | 2.8% | -33.6% |
| 2019 | 3.2% | +17.2% |
| 2020 | 4.2% | +30.0% |
| 2021 | 3.3% | -21.5% |
| 2022 | 2.7% | -17.7% |
| 2023 | 3.3% | +22.5% |
Congo compared with similar countries
- Congo's 3.3% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.0%, 83% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Congo's 3.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.2%, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Congo 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | +238.3% | 1.7% | 5.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.6% | 5.2% | 8.4% | 6 |
| 1980s | 6.4% | 6.4% | 6.4% | 1 |
| 1990s | 5.1% | 4.1% | 6.4% | 3 |
| 2000s | 2.5% | 1.7% | 3.2% | 4 |
| 2010s | 3.7% | 2.6% | 5.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.4% | 2.7% | 4.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Congo
More reference data data for Congo
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0199 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.1866 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.2108 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0031 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.2108 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0668 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0724 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.9126 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.08 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.017 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Congo?
- Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Congo was 3.3% in 2023, 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 Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 8.4% in 1978.
- What is the lowest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 2005.
- How does Congo rank for government spending on education overall vs. primary education?
- Congo ranks 132nd out of 199 countries with data for 2023.
- Is government spending on education overall vs. primary education rising or falling in Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Congo 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 — 28 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.