Ranking · 119 countries · 2023
Government expenditure on education (% of GDP) by country
Kiribati had the highest government expenditure on education (% of GDP) in 2023, at 16.4%, followed by Tuvalu (12.8%) and the Solomon Islands (8.29%). The ranking compares 119 countries on 2023 figures from the World Bank. Somalia ranked last of the 119, at 0.0000081%.
How this ranking is built. Indicator: Government expenditure on education (% of GDP) · Industry: Education · Period: 2023. Only verified actual figures for that one period are ranked, so every row is comparable; forecasts are not ranked, and world or regional totals are shown as reference, not ranked. 80 other countries have data only for other periods and are omitted.
Visualised
Ranked chart
World map
2023 · %. Grey means no observation on this map. Small territories remain in the table.
Sources: the same published records as the ranking. Geometry: Natural Earth, public domain. Download SVG.
The table
Country ranking
Rank · country · value · change on the same period a year earlier · source. Values in %.
Ranks 1–50 of 119 countries. Page 1 of 3.
| # | Country | Value | YoY | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiribati KI | 16.4% | +10.9% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 2 | Tuvalu TV | 12.8% | -6.7% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 3 | Solomon Islands SB | 8.29% | -2.3% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 4 | Bolivia BO | 7.89% | +4.2% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 5 | Vanuatu VU | 7.58% | -29.2% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 6 | Lesotho LS | 7.29% | — | 2023 | World Bank |
| 7 | Kyrgyzstan KG | 6.83% | -4.8% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 8 | Tunisia TN | 6.73% | -1.0% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 9 | Moldova MD | 6.56% | +7.4% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 10 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines VC | 6.46% | -8.7% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 11 | Senegal SN | 6.16% | +3.5% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 12 | South Africa ZA | 6.12% | -0.5% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 13 | Samoa WS | 6.11% | -0.8% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 14 | Morocco MA | 6.02% | +1.8% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 15 | Bhutan BT | 5.85% | -21.7% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 16 | Nauru NR | 5.78% | -2.4% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 17 | Jamaica JM | 5.65% | +5.6% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 18 | Algeria DZ | 5.61% | +18.1% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 19 | Uzbekistan UZ | 5.47% | +4.5% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 20 | Tajikistan TJ | 5.44% | +0.7% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 21 | Burkina Faso BF | 5.33% | +0.6% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 22 | Costa Rica CR | 5.31% | -4.2% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 23 | Curacao CW | 5.3% | -12.8% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 24 | Timor-Leste TL | 5.24% | — | 2023 | World Bank |
| 25 | New Zealand NZ | 5.21% | +0.9% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 26 | Maldives MV | 5.17% | +10.6% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 27 | Grenada GD | 5.13% | +26.9% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 28 | Sao Tome and Principe ST | 5.03% | -3.2% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 29 | Kuwait KW | 5.03% | -23.6% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 30 | Eswatini SZ | 5% | -10.2% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 31 | Argentina AR | 5% | +4.4% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 32 | Rwanda RW | 4.92% | +3.8% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 33 | Belarus BY | 4.91% | +6.1% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 34 | Kazakhstan KZ | 4.86% | +11.5% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 35 | Uruguay UY | 4.76% | +6.4% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 36 | Mauritania MR | 4.72% | — | 2023 | World Bank |
| 37 | Dominica DM | 4.69% | -22.3% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 38 | Mauritius MU | 4.57% | -5.5% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 39 | Honduras HN | 4.55% | +1.5% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 40 | Saudi Arabia SA | 4.48% | — | 2023 | World Bank |
| 41 | Seychelles SC | 4.45% | +21.7% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 42 | Cabo Verde CV | 4.35% | -8.0% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 43 | Puerto Rico (US) PR | 4.27% | +10.6% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 44 | Fiji FJ | 4.25% | +7.8% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 45 | Peru PE | 4.25% | +10.6% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 46 | Belize BZ | 4.23% | -8.1% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 47 | Mali ML | 4.18% | +3.4% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 48 | Russia RU | 4.16% | +2.7% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 49 | Togo TG | 4.14% | +9.7% | 2023 | World Bank |
| 50 | Niger NE | 4.07% | +9.7% | 2023 | World Bank |
Frequently asked questions
Which country has the highest government expenditure on education (% of GDP)?
Kiribati, at 16.4% in 2023, ahead of Tuvalu (12.8%) and the Solomon Islands (8.29%), among 119 countries ranked on 2023 figures from the World Bank.
Which country has the lowest government expenditure on education (% of GDP)?
Somalia, at 0.0000081% in 2023, then Nigeria (0.32%).
What does this ranking measure?
General government expenditure on education (current, capital, and transfers) expressed as a percentage of gross domestic product.
Which countries are included?
119 countries with 2023 figures: Kiribati, Tuvalu, Solomon Islands, Bolivia, Vanuatu, Lesotho, Kyrgyzstan, Tunisia, Moldova, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal and South Africa and 107 more. 80 other countries published figures only for other periods and are left out, so every row compares the same period.
Where does the data come from?
From the World Bank. Every value links to its record, which quotes the table or sentence it was read from. Only actual figures are ranked; forecasts are left out.
Cite & reuse
Cite this ranking
Published under CC BY 4.0.
StatOrigin. (2026). Government expenditure on education (% of GDP) by country, 2023. Retrieved from https://statorigin.org/rankings/government-expenditure-on-education-share-of-gdp-by-country