Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Moldova
Moldova: Government spending on education overall vs. primary education was 6.6% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Moldova, 1996–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Moldova recorded 6.6% for government spending on education overall vs. primary education in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 7.4% on the previous year and up 11.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Moldova peaked at 9.9% in 1996 and was at its lowest, 4.5%, in 2000.
Moldova ranks 20th of 199 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Moldova, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 9.9% | — |
| 1999 | 4.7% | -52.9% |
| 2000 | 4.5% | -3.8% |
| 2001 | 4.8% | +8.0% |
| 2002 | 5.5% | +13.4% |
| 2003 | 5.4% | -1.3% |
| 2004 | 6.8% | +24.8% |
| 2005 | 7.2% | +5.8% |
| 2006 | 7.5% | +4.7% |
| 2007 | 8.3% | +10.6% |
| 2008 | 8.2% | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 9.5% | +15.4% |
| 2010 | 7.6% | -20.2% |
| 2011 | 7.1% | -6.0% |
| 2012 | 7.0% | -2.1% |
| 2013 | 5.9% | -15.4% |
| 2014 | 6.3% | +7.2% |
| 2015 | 5.8% | -9.0% |
| 2016 | 5.7% | -1.6% |
| 2017 | 5.7% | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 5.5% | -3.0% |
| 2019 | 6.2% | +12.4% |
| 2020 | 6.6% | +6.0% |
| 2021 | 5.8% | -11.8% |
| 2022 | 6.1% | +4.8% |
| 2023 | 6.6% | +7.4% |
Moldova compared with similar countries
- Moldova's 6.6% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 4.2%, 1.5× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Moldova's 6.6% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 4.5%, 1.5× the median. (51 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.3% | 4.7% | 9.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 6.8% | 4.5% | 9.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.3% | 5.5% | 7.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.3% | 5.8% | 6.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Moldova
More reference data data for Moldova
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2466 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.1366 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.6117 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.118 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.6117 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.8268 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.4303 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.5193 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.6426 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Moldova?
- Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Moldova was 6.6% 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 Moldova?
- The highest recorded value was 9.9% in 1996.
- What is the lowest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Moldova?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.5% in 2000.
- How does Moldova rank for government spending on education overall vs. primary education?
- Moldova ranks 20th out of 199 countries with data for 2023.
- Is government spending on education overall vs. primary education rising or falling in Moldova?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Moldova 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 — 26 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.