Vanuatu's government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP) was 7.64% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 2.46 percentage points from 5.17% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 7.64% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 1.77% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 5.17% | 2014 |
| Highest | 10.7% | 2022 |
| Lowest | 1.77% | 2019 |
| Average since 2015 | 6.62% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 4.12% | 1994 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Vanuatu's government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP) rose 0.06 percentage points on 2023 (from 7.58% to 7.64%).
Across the 15 yearly changes before that (1999 to 2023), the average change was +0.16 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.37 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 7.94 percentage points in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 6.83 percentage points in 2019. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 11% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2024, Vanuatu had the 3rd highest value of the 38 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Vanuatu | 7.64% | 2024 |
| World | 3.57% | 2023 |
| East Asia & Pacific | 3.51% | 2023 |
| Lower middle income | 3.39% | 2023 |
Closest to Vanuatu in the 2024 ranking
- Namibia — 1st of 38: 9.08%
- Algeria — 2nd of 38: 8.98%
- Mauritania — 4th of 38: 7.61%
- Bolivia — 5th of 38: 7.54%
- Lesotho — 6th of 38: 6.62%
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 20 values
| Year | Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 7.64 |
| 2023 | 7.58 |
| 2022 | 10.7 |
| 2021 | 10.11 |
| 2020 | 2.17 |
| 2019 | 1.77 |
| 2018 | 8.61 |
| 2017 | 4.53 |
| 2016 | 7.68 |
| 2015 | 5.39 |
| 2014 |
Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP) in nearby economies
- Australia — 5.06% (2022)
- Brunei Darussalam — 4.43% (2016)
- Cambodia — 2.18% (2023)
- China — 3.9% (2023)
- Fiji — 4.25% (2023)
- Hong Kong SAR, China — 3.81% (2024)
- Indonesia — 1.28% (2023)
- Japan — 3.34% (2021)
- Kiribati — 16.39% (2023)
- Korea, Rep.
More education data for Vanuatu
- Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
- Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 12 (2025)
- Secondary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
- Primary education, pupils — 56,048 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 112.49% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 0.98 (2020)
- School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 110.56% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 114.31% (2024)
- Primary education, pupils (% female)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Vanuatu's government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP)?
- 7.64% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1994?
- It is up 3.52 percentage points from 4.12% in 1994. The highest value was 10.7% in 2022 and the lowest 1.77% in 2019.
- How does Vanuatu rank?
- 3rd highest of 38 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP) unusual for Vanuatu?
- In 2024, Vanuatu's government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP) rose 0.06 percentage points on 2023 (from 7.58% to 7.64%). Across the 15 yearly changes before that (1999 to 2023), the average change was +0.16 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.37 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
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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