Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Namibia
Namibia: Government spending on education as a share of GDP was 9.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Namibia, 1999–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for government spending on education as a share of gdp in Namibia is 9.1%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 3.3% on the previous year and up 147.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education as a share of gdp in Namibia peaked at 10.6% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 1.4%, in 2017.
Namibia ranks 4th of 199 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Namibia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 7.1% | — |
| 2000 | 6.9% | -3.2% |
| 2001 | 6.9% | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 6.7% | -2.1% |
| 2003 | 6.1% | -9.0% |
| 2006 | 6.0% | -1.7% |
| 2008 | 6.4% | +6.2% |
| 2010 | 8.2% | +28.7% |
| 2011 | 8.0% | -2.7% |
| 2012 | 9.2% | +15.2% |
| 2013 | 8.6% | -7.0% |
| 2014 | 3.7% | -57.3% |
| 2015 | 9.9% | +168.6% |
| 2016 | 10.6% | +7.5% |
| 2017 | 1.4% | -86.8% |
| 2018 | 8.9% | +536.5% |
| 2019 | 9.3% | +5.0% |
| 2020 | 9.3% | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 10.4% | +12.0% |
| 2022 | 9.4% | -9.6% |
| 2024 | 9.1% | -3.3% |
Namibia compared with similar countries
- Namibia's 9.1% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.0%, 2.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Namibia's 9.1% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.2%, 2.8× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Namibia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | +536.5% | 1.4% | 8.9% |
| 2015 | +168.6% | 3.7% | 9.9% |
| 2017 | -86.8% | 10.6% | 1.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.1% | 7.1% | 7.1% | 1 |
| 2000s | 6.5% | 6.0% | 6.9% | 6 |
| 2010s | 7.8% | 1.4% | 10.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.5% | 9.1% | 10.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Namibia
More education data for Namibia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 10,653 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 90,003 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 26,964 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 27,746 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 236,050 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 590,029 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 4.48 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1947 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education as a share of gdp in Namibia?
- Government spending on education as a share of gdp in Namibia was 9.1% 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 Namibia?
- The highest recorded value was 10.6% in 2016.
- What is the lowest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in Namibia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.4% in 2017.
- How does Namibia rank for government spending on education as a share of gdp?
- Namibia ranks 4th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is government spending on education as a share of gdp rising or falling in Namibia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 147.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Namibia 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.