Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Lebanon
Lebanon: Government spending on education as a share of GDP was 1.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Lebanon, 1993–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Lebanon recorded 1.2% for government spending on education as a share of gdp in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 18.6% on the previous year and down 49.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education as a share of gdp in Lebanon peaked at 2.8% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 1.2%, in 2024.
Lebanon ranks 194th of 199 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Lebanon, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 1.7% | — |
| 1994 | 1.9% | +15.9% |
| 1995 | 2.2% | +15.2% |
| 1996 | 2.1% | -6.3% |
| 2001 | 2.8% | +36.3% |
| 2002 | 2.6% | -10.2% |
| 2004 | 2.6% | +3.5% |
| 2005 | 2.6% | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 2.8% | +5.0% |
| 2007 | 2.6% | -7.1% |
| 2008 | 2.0% | -22.0% |
| 2009 | 1.8% | -12.4% |
| 2010 | 1.6% | -8.6% |
| 2011 | 1.7% | +2.4% |
| 2012 | 2.1% | +30.0% |
| 2013 | 2.4% | +13.3% |
| 2016 | 2.2% | -10.5% |
| 2017 | 2.2% | +1.7% |
| 2018 | 2.6% | +18.1% |
| 2019 | 2.5% | -3.7% |
| 2020 | 2.4% | -3.3% |
| 2022 | 1.3% | -45.3% |
| 2023 | 1.5% | +13.0% |
| 2024 | 1.2% | -18.6% |
Lebanon compared with similar countries
- Lebanon's 1.2% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.0%, 30% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lebanon's 1.2% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 4.4%, 28% of the median. (19 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.0% | 1.7% | 2.2% | 4 |
| 2000s | 2.5% | 1.8% | 2.8% | 8 |
| 2010s | 2.2% | 1.6% | 2.6% | 8 |
| 2020s | 1.6% | 1.2% | 2.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Lebanon
More education data for Lebanon
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 45,252 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 34,874 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 102,145 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 96,517 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 417,800 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 533,550 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.8 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0919 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education as a share of gdp in Lebanon?
- Government spending on education as a share of gdp in Lebanon was 1.2% in 2024, 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 Lebanon?
- The highest recorded value was 2.8% in 2001.
- What is the lowest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in Lebanon?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.2% in 2024.
- How does Lebanon rank for government spending on education as a share of gdp?
- Lebanon ranks 194th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is government spending on education as a share of gdp rising or falling in Lebanon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 49.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lebanon 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total annual general government spending on all levels of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP.