Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Guyana
Guyana: Government spending on education overall vs. primary education was 4.5% in 2018. ▼ Falling
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Guyana, 1970–2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2018, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Guyana stood at 4.5%.
That represents a change of down 4.6% on the previous year and up 86.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Guyana peaked at 9.4% in 1979 and was at its lowest, 2.2%, in 2009.
That places Guyana 84th out of 199 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Guyana, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 4.3% | — |
| 1977 | 7.1% | +63.8% |
| 1979 | 9.4% | +32.3% |
| 1983 | 8.3% | -12.0% |
| 1984 | 7.2% | -12.4% |
| 1994 | 3.7% | -48.5% |
| 1995 | 3.6% | -3.1% |
| 1999 | 8.6% | +137.2% |
| 2000 | 8.5% | -0.9% |
| 2001 | 8.4% | -1.0% |
| 2002 | 8.4% | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 7.0% | -16.9% |
| 2004 | 5.5% | -20.7% |
| 2005 | 8.1% | +47.6% |
| 2006 | 3.1% | -61.7% |
| 2007 | 2.4% | -23.3% |
| 2009 | 2.2% | -10.1% |
| 2010 | 2.4% | +12.0% |
| 2011 | 2.5% | +4.0% |
| 2012 | 2.2% | -10.6% |
| 2014 | 4.4% | +94.5% |
| 2015 | 3.9% | -10.7% |
| 2016 | 4.7% | +21.6% |
| 2017 | 4.7% | -1.5% |
| 2018 | 4.5% | -4.6% |
Guyana compared with similar countries
- Guyana's 4.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 4.4%, 1.0× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- Guyana's 4.5% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 4.1%, 1.1× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Guyana 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | +137.2% | 3.6% | 8.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.9% | 4.3% | 9.4% | 3 |
| 1980s | 7.7% | 7.2% | 8.3% | 2 |
| 1990s | 5.3% | 3.6% | 8.6% | 3 |
| 2000s | 5.9% | 2.2% | 8.5% | 9 |
| 2010s | 3.7% | 2.2% | 4.7% | 8 |
Countries ranked near Guyana
- 81 Bulgaria 4.5% compare
- 82 Saudi Arabia 4.5% compare
- 83 Seychelles 4.5% compare
- 85 Brunei 4.4% compare
- 86 Cook Islands 4.4% compare
- 87 Oman 4.4% compare
More reference data data for Guyana
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0396 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0791 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.2193 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0297 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.2193 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1326 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0457 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.4179 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.05 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1619 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Guyana?
- Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Guyana was 4.5% in 2018, 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 Guyana?
- The highest recorded value was 9.4% in 1979.
- What is the lowest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Guyana?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.2% in 2009.
- How does Guyana rank for government spending on education overall vs. primary education?
- Guyana ranks 84th out of 199 countries with data for 2018.
- Is government spending on education overall vs. primary education rising or falling in Guyana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 86.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Guyana 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 — 25 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.