Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Kiribati
Kiribati: Government spending on education overall vs. primary education was 16.4% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Kiribati, 1970–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2023, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Kiribati stood at 16.4%. That is the highest value across all 18 years on record.
The figure is up 10.9% on the previous year and up 35.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Kiribati peaked at 16.4% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 3.9%, in 1974.
That places Kiribati 1st out of 199 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Kiribati, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 5.9% | — |
| 1971 | 5.3% | -11.0% |
| 1974 | 3.9% | -26.5% |
| 1999 | 9.7% | +150.4% |
| 2000 | 10.0% | +3.5% |
| 2001 | 11.6% | +16.0% |
| 2012 | 12.5% | +7.3% |
| 2013 | 12.1% | -3.3% |
| 2014 | 11.5% | -4.8% |
| 2015 | 10.8% | -6.5% |
| 2016 | 11.6% | +8.2% |
| 2017 | 11.5% | -1.5% |
| 2018 | 12.9% | +12.6% |
| 2019 | 14.5% | +12.4% |
| 2020 | 16.2% | +11.8% |
| 2021 | 14.0% | -13.8% |
| 2022 | 14.8% | +5.7% |
| 2023 | 16.4% | +10.9% |
Kiribati compared with similar countries
- Kiribati's 16.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.0%, 4.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Kiribati's 16.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 4.2%, 3.9× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Kiribati 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 | +150.4% | 3.9% | 9.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.0% | 3.9% | 5.9% | 3 |
| 1990s | 9.7% | 9.7% | 9.7% | 1 |
| 2000s | 10.8% | 10.0% | 11.6% | 2 |
| 2010s | 12.2% | 10.8% | 14.5% | 8 |
| 2020s | 15.3% | 14.0% | 16.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Kiribati
More reference data data for Kiribati
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.0059 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Enteric Fermentation 0.7542 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0194 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Agricultural Soils 5.35 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Direct emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.0143 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Direct emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0007 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - Enteric Fermentation 0.0269 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0008 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure Management 13.95 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Direct emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0136 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Kiribati?
- Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Kiribati was 16.4% 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 Kiribati?
- The highest recorded value was 16.4% in 2023.
- What is the lowest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Kiribati?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.9% in 1974.
- How does Kiribati rank for government spending on education overall vs. primary education?
- Kiribati ranks 1st out of 199 countries with data for 2023.
- Is government spending on education overall vs. primary education rising or falling in Kiribati?
- Over the last ten years it is up 35.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kiribati 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 — 18 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.