Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Government spending on education as a share of GDP was 4.3% in 2017. ▲ Rising
Latest (2017)
4.3%
Change on year
down 4.4%
World rank
90th
of 199 countries
All-time high
4.5%
in 2016
All-time low
2.6%
in 2012
Years of data
8
2010–2017
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Afghanistan, 2010–2017
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Afghanistan recorded 4.3% for government spending on education as a share of gdp in 2017.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.4% on the previous year and up 24.8% over ten years.
That places Afghanistan 90th out of 199 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the middle of the range.
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 3.5% | — |
| 2011 | 3.5% | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 2.6% | -24.8% |
| 2013 | 3.5% | +32.6% |
| 2014 | 3.7% | +7.0% |
| 2015 | 3.3% | -11.9% |
| 2016 | 4.5% | +39.6% |
| 2017 | 4.3% | -4.4% |
Afghanistan compared with similar countries
- Afghanistan's 4.3% is above the median for low income countries, which is 2.8%, 1.5× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Afghanistan's 4.3% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 4.4%, 99% of the median. (19 countries reporting)
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
More education data for Afghanistan
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 88,020 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 343,942 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 13,837 (2003)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 10,383 (2003)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.43 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 7.51 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 3.56 % change on previous year (2019)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0004 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1811 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education as a share of gdp in Afghanistan?
- Government spending on education as a share of gdp in Afghanistan was 4.3% in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 4.5% in 2016.
- What is the lowest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.6% in 2012.
- How does Afghanistan rank for government spending on education as a share of gdp?
- Afghanistan ranks 90th out of 199 countries with data for 2017.
- Is government spending on education as a share of gdp rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Afghanistan 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 as a share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Total annual general government spending on all levels of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP.