Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Uganda
Uganda: Government spending on education overall vs. primary education was 2.6% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Uganda, 1971–2022
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 Uganda is 2.6%, measured in 2022.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.8% on the previous year and up 42.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Uganda peaked at 5.1% in 1988 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 1983.
That places Uganda 164th out of 199 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Uganda, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 3.2% | — |
| 1973 | 3.4% | +6.0% |
| 1974 | 3.4% | +1.2% |
| 1975 | 3.2% | -5.0% |
| 1976 | 2.7% | -16.9% |
| 1982 | 2.5% | -6.0% |
| 1983 | 1.7% | -32.9% |
| 1984 | 2.4% | +43.8% |
| 1985 | 3.4% | +41.3% |
| 1988 | 5.1% | +48.7% |
| 2000 | 2.5% | -51.8% |
| 2004 | 5.0% | +101.2% |
| 2010 | 1.7% | -65.1% |
| 2011 | 2.3% | +33.1% |
| 2012 | 1.8% | -21.8% |
| 2013 | 1.9% | +4.1% |
| 2014 | 1.9% | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 2.3% | +21.2% |
| 2016 | 2.1% | -7.9% |
| 2017 | 2.3% | +5.4% |
| 2018 | 2.1% | -5.5% |
| 2019 | 2.3% | +8.3% |
| 2020 | 2.6% | +11.4% |
| 2021 | 2.6% | +2.5% |
| 2022 | 2.6% | -2.8% |
Uganda compared with similar countries
- Uganda's 2.6% is below the median for low income countries, which is 2.8%, 91% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Uganda's 2.6% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.2%, 80% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Uganda 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | +101.2% | 2.5% | 5.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.2% | 2.7% | 3.4% | 5 |
| 1980s | 3.0% | 1.7% | 5.1% | 5 |
| 2000s | 3.7% | 2.5% | 5.0% | 2 |
| 2010s | 2.1% | 1.7% | 2.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Uganda
More reference data data for Uganda
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.95 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.86 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.4214 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 7.86 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.57 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 5.13 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 29.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 42.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.29 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Uganda?
- Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Uganda was 2.6% 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 Uganda?
- The highest recorded value was 5.1% in 1988.
- What is the lowest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Uganda?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 1983.
- How does Uganda rank for government spending on education overall vs. primary education?
- Uganda ranks 164th out of 199 countries with data for 2022.
- Is government spending on education overall vs. primary education rising or falling in Uganda?
- Over the last ten years it is up 42.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Uganda 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.