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

0123452010201320172010: 3.5 % of GDP2011: 3.5 % of GDP2012: 2.6 % of GDP2013: 3.5 % of GDP2014: 3.7 % of GDP2015: 3.3 % of GDP2016: 4.5 % of GDP2017: 4.3 % of GDP

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.

Countries ranked near Afghanistan

  1. 87 Oman 4.4% compare
  2. 88 Peru 4.4% compare
  3. 89 Cape Verde 4.3% compare
  4. 91 Latvia 4.3% compare
  5. 92 Poland 4.3% compare
  6. 93 Czechia 4.3% compare

See the full ranking of 199 places →

More education data for Afghanistan

All data for Afghanistan →

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.

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About this data

Indicator
Government spending on education as a share of GDP
Unit
% of GDP
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
199 places, 5,187 data points, 1870–2025
Last refreshed

Total annual general government spending on all levels of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP.