Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan: Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.94 percentage points in 1976 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.45 percentage points in 1977. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2013 to 2022 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.05 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 30% of the movement over 8 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

General government expenditure on education (current, capital, and transfers) is expressed as a percentage of GDP. It includes expenditure funded by transfers from international sources to government. General government usually refers to local, regional and central governments.

Limitations: Data may refer to spending by the ministry of education only (excluding spending on educational activities by other ministries).

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.

All 24 values

Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Algeria — 8.98% (2024)
• Bahrain — 1.89% (2023)
• Djibouti — 3.75% (2018)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 2.82% (2023)
• Israel — 5.93% (2022)
• Jordan — 3.23% (2024)
• Kuwait — 6.44% (2024)
• Lebanon — 1.22% (2024)
• Malta — 4.71% (2022)
• Morocco

More education data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan

• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• School enrollment, tertiary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1.06 (2024)
• Primary completion rate, female (% of relevant age group) — 81.14% (2024)
• Primary completion rate, male (% of relevant age group) — 86.1% (2024)
• Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) — 83.68% (2024)
• Primary education, pupils — 91.9 million (2024)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan's government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP)?

4.38% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1975?

It is up 0.53 percentage points from 3.85% in 1975. The highest value was 5.52% in 1984 and the lowest 3.57% in 2012.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API..

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.