Serbia: Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP)

Key figures

Over five years it is down 0.03 percentage points from 3.44% in 2018. Since 2007 it is down 0.65 percentage points from 4.05% in 2007. The World Bank has no value for 7 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

How it compares

In 2023, Serbia had the 40th highest value of the 75 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Serbia in the 2023 ranking

• Malaysia — 36th of 75: 3.51%
• Macao SAR, China — 37th of 75: 3.5%
• St. Kitts and Nevis — 38th of 75: 3.5%
• Congo, Rep. — 40th of 75: 3.34%
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 41st of 75: 3.25%
• Trinidad and Tobago — 42nd of 75: 3.23%

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 10 values

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

• Albania — 3.09% (2023)
• Andorra — 1.9% (2023)
• Armenia — 2.44% (2023)
• Austria — 5.28% (2022)
• Azerbaijan — 3.66% (2023)
• Belarus — 5.05% (2024)
• Belgium — 6.28% (2022)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 3.25% (2023)
• Bulgaria — 4.5% (2022)
• Croatia

More education data for Serbia

• Primary school starting age (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 4 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 11 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 8 (2025)
• Compulsory education, duration (years) — 8 (2025)
• Preprimary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 251,941 (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 478,731 (2024)
• School enrollment, tertiary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1.3 (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 95.99% (2024)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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Questions people ask

What is Serbia's government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP)?

3.4% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2007?

It is down 0.65 percentage points from 4.05% in 2007. The highest value was 4.31% in 2009 and the lowest 3.08% in 2022.

How does Serbia rank?

40th highest of 75 economies with data for 2023.

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.

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