Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Burundi
Burundi: Government spending on education as a share of GDP was 4.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Burundi, 1979–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Burundi recorded 4.5% for government spending on education as a share of gdp in 2025.
That represents a change of down 29.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education as a share of gdp in Burundi peaked at 6.8% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 2.6%, in 2000.
Burundi ranks 80th of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Burundi, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 2.8% | — |
| 1981 | 3.3% | +19.4% |
| 1990 | 3.4% | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 3.5% | +4.0% |
| 1992 | 3.8% | +8.9% |
| 1994 | 4.6% | +20.0% |
| 1995 | 5.0% | +9.9% |
| 1996 | 4.1% | -18.6% |
| 1999 | 3.4% | -16.3% |
| 2000 | 2.6% | -22.6% |
| 2001 | 2.9% | +9.8% |
| 2002 | 3.0% | +3.5% |
| 2004 | 3.7% | +24.6% |
| 2005 | 3.6% | -3.0% |
| 2008 | 5.2% | +43.0% |
| 2009 | 6.2% | +18.9% |
| 2010 | 6.8% | +9.8% |
| 2011 | 6.3% | -6.7% |
| 2012 | 6.2% | -2.4% |
| 2013 | 6.0% | -2.8% |
| 2014 | 6.8% | +13.2% |
| 2015 | 6.4% | -6.1% |
| 2016 | 4.7% | -26.4% |
| 2017 | 4.8% | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 5.1% | +6.6% |
| 2019 | 5.3% | +5.3% |
| 2020 | 5.3% | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 4.9% | -8.5% |
| 2025 | 4.5% | -7.5% |
Burundi compared with similar countries
- Burundi's 4.5% is above the median for low income countries, which is 2.8%, 1.6× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Burundi's 4.5% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.2%, 1.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.8% | 2.8% | 2.8% | 1 |
| 1980s | 3.3% | 3.3% | 3.3% | 1 |
| 1990s | 4.0% | 3.4% | 5.0% | 7 |
| 2000s | 3.9% | 2.6% | 6.2% | 7 |
| 2010s | 5.8% | 4.7% | 6.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.9% | 4.5% | 5.3% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Burundi
More education data for Burundi
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 27,748 (2025)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 646,726 (2020)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 115,798 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 117,464 (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 590,027 (2025)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.52 million (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 4.06 % change on previous year (2020)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0007 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1748 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education as a share of gdp in Burundi?
- Government spending on education as a share of gdp in Burundi was 4.5% in 2025, 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 Burundi?
- The highest recorded value was 6.8% in 2014.
- What is the lowest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in Burundi?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.6% in 2000.
- How does Burundi rank for government spending on education as a share of gdp?
- Burundi ranks 80th out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
- Is government spending on education as a share of gdp rising or falling in Burundi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Burundi 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
Total annual general government spending on all levels of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP.