Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Laos
Laos: Government spending on education as a share of GDP was 1.2% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Laos, 1992–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2023, government spending on education as a share of gdp in Laos stood at 1.2%. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of down 15.5% on the previous year and down 61.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education as a share of gdp in Laos peaked at 3.2% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 1.2%, in 2023.
That places Laos 193rd out of 199 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Laos, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 2.3% | — |
| 1996 | 2.4% | +4.1% |
| 1997 | 2.1% | -12.3% |
| 2000 | 1.5% | -29.4% |
| 2001 | 2.0% | +32.4% |
| 2002 | 2.8% | +42.0% |
| 2004 | 2.4% | -14.6% |
| 2005 | 2.4% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 3.0% | +22.6% |
| 2007 | 3.1% | +4.0% |
| 2008 | 2.3% | -26.0% |
| 2009 | 1.7% | -27.4% |
| 2010 | 1.7% | +3.3% |
| 2011 | 1.7% | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 1.8% | +6.6% |
| 2013 | 3.2% | +77.5% |
| 2014 | 2.9% | -9.2% |
| 2015 | 2.7% | -6.8% |
| 2016 | 2.8% | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 2.5% | -10.0% |
| 2018 | 2.3% | -6.5% |
| 2019 | 2.1% | -9.1% |
| 2020 | 1.9% | -9.7% |
| 2021 | 1.9% | -2.9% |
| 2022 | 1.5% | -21.4% |
| 2023 | 1.2% | -15.5% |
Laos compared with similar countries
- Laos's 1.2% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.0%, 31% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Laos's 1.2% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 4.2%, 29% of the median. (31 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Laos 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | +77.5% | 1.8% | 3.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.3% | 2.1% | 2.4% | 3 |
| 2000s | 2.3% | 1.5% | 3.1% | 9 |
| 2010s | 2.4% | 1.7% | 3.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.6% | 1.2% | 1.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Laos
- 190 Cayman Islands 1.6% compare
- 191 South Sudan 1.6% compare
- 192 Indonesia 1.3% compare
- 194 Lebanon 1.2% compare
- 195 Haiti 1.0% compare
- 196 Papua New Guinea 0.8% compare
More education data for Laos
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 35,584 (2022)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 16,396 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 116,303 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 115,863 (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 532,092 (2025)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 739,554 (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.0716 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0939 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education as a share of gdp in Laos?
- Government spending on education as a share of gdp in Laos was 1.2% 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 Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 3.2% in 2013.
- What is the lowest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.2% in 2023.
- How does Laos rank for government spending on education as a share of gdp?
- Laos ranks 193rd out of 199 countries with data for 2023.
- Is government spending on education as a share of gdp rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is down 61.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Laos 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.