Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Tonga
Tonga: Government spending on education overall vs. primary education was 5.3% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Tonga, 1984–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Tonga recorded 5.3% for government spending on education overall vs. primary education in 2022.
That represents a change of up 2.9% on the previous year and up 14.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Tonga peaked at 10.3% in 1984 and was at its lowest, 3.8%, in 2002.
That places Tonga 49th out of 199 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Tonga, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 10.3% | — |
| 1998 | 5.5% | -46.7% |
| 1999 | 5.4% | -2.5% |
| 2000 | 4.9% | -9.3% |
| 2001 | 4.5% | -8.2% |
| 2002 | 3.8% | -15.2% |
| 2003 | 4.2% | +9.6% |
| 2004 | 3.9% | -5.9% |
| 2017 | 4.6% | +18.5% |
| 2018 | 4.7% | +1.7% |
| 2019 | 4.9% | +3.1% |
| 2020 | 5.0% | +3.8% |
| 2021 | 5.2% | +2.3% |
| 2022 | 5.3% | +2.9% |
Tonga compared with similar countries
- Tonga's 5.3% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 4.2%, 1.3× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Tonga's 5.3% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 4.2%, 1.3× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 10.3% | 10.3% | 10.3% | 1 |
| 1990s | 5.4% | 5.4% | 5.5% | 2 |
| 2000s | 4.2% | 3.8% | 4.9% | 5 |
| 2010s | 4.7% | 4.6% | 4.9% | 3 |
| 2020s | 5.2% | 5.0% | 5.3% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
More reference data data for Tonga
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0105 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0092 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0197 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.0197 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0353 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0269 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0446 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.1068 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.0799 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure applied 9.35 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Tonga?
- Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Tonga was 5.3% in 2022, 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 Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 10.3% in 1984.
- What is the lowest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.8% in 2002.
- How does Tonga rank for government spending on education overall vs. primary education?
- Tonga ranks 49th out of 199 countries with data for 2022.
- Is government spending on education overall vs. primary education rising or falling in Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Tonga 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
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About this data
Total annual general government spending on all levels of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP.