Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Congo
Congo: Government spending on education as a share of GDP was 3.3% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Congo, 1970–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Congo recorded 3.3% for government spending on education as a share of gdp in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 22.5% on the previous year and down 33.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education as a share of gdp in Congo peaked at 8.4% in 1978 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 2005.
Congo ranks 132nd of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 28 years of available data.
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Congo, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 5.7% | — |
| 1971 | 5.6% | -3.2% |
| 1973 | 5.2% | -5.6% |
| 1975 | 7.7% | +47.8% |
| 1978 | 8.4% | +8.7% |
| 1979 | 7.0% | -16.3% |
| 1980 | 6.4% | -9.6% |
| 1994 | 6.4% | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 4.9% | -23.0% |
| 1998 | 4.1% | -17.1% |
| 2002 | 3.2% | -21.1% |
| 2003 | 2.8% | -11.6% |
| 2004 | 2.3% | -19.3% |
| 2005 | 1.7% | -26.5% |
| 2010 | 5.7% | +238.3% |
| 2011 | 2.6% | -53.5% |
| 2012 | 2.7% | +3.5% |
| 2013 | 5.0% | +83.0% |
| 2014 | 3.2% | -36.5% |
| 2015 | 3.1% | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 4.9% | +55.2% |
| 2017 | 4.2% | -14.3% |
| 2018 | 2.8% | -33.6% |
| 2019 | 3.2% | +17.2% |
| 2020 | 4.2% | +30.0% |
| 2021 | 3.3% | -21.5% |
| 2022 | 2.7% | -17.7% |
| 2023 | 3.3% | +22.5% |
Congo compared with similar countries
- Congo's 3.3% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.0%, 83% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Congo's 3.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.2%, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Congo changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | +238.3% | 1.7% | 5.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.6% | 5.2% | 8.4% | 6 |
| 1980s | 6.4% | 6.4% | 6.4% | 1 |
| 1990s | 5.1% | 4.1% | 6.4% | 3 |
| 2000s | 2.5% | 1.7% | 3.2% | 4 |
| 2010s | 3.7% | 2.6% | 5.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.4% | 2.7% | 4.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Congo
More education data for Congo
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 38,064 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 70,276 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 12,245 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 13,478 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 339,250 (2012)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 880,625 (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.03 % change on previous year (2012)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1424 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education as a share of gdp in Congo?
- Government spending on education as a share of gdp in Congo was 3.3% in 2023, 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 Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 8.4% in 1978.
- What is the lowest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 2005.
- How does Congo rank for government spending on education as a share of gdp?
- Congo ranks 132nd out of 199 countries with data for 2023.
- Is government spending on education as a share of gdp rising or falling in Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Congo 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.