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.
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
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 65.4% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 29.8% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 11 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 93.1% (2025)
- Primary education, teachers 21,845 (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 2.4 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 92.6% (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.