Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Rwanda
Rwanda: Government spending on education as a share of GDP was 4.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Rwanda, 1977–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2024, government spending on education as a share of gdp in Rwanda stood at 4.6%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 6.2% on the previous year and up 10.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education as a share of gdp in Rwanda peaked at 5.6% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 2.2%, in 1977.
Rwanda ranks 76th of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Rwanda, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 2.2% | — |
| 1978 | 2.2% | +3.8% |
| 1979 | 2.4% | +9.4% |
| 1980 | 2.7% | +9.2% |
| 1981 | 4.4% | +64.8% |
| 1987 | 3.5% | -20.2% |
| 1988 | 3.3% | -4.9% |
| 1989 | 3.7% | +12.3% |
| 1999 | 3.9% | +3.0% |
| 2000 | 3.4% | -11.0% |
| 2001 | 4.8% | +40.5% |
| 2007 | 4.0% | -17.4% |
| 2008 | 3.5% | -12.1% |
| 2010 | 4.6% | +32.2% |
| 2011 | 4.4% | -5.4% |
| 2012 | 4.4% | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 4.7% | +7.3% |
| 2014 | 4.2% | -11.5% |
| 2015 | 3.6% | -13.1% |
| 2016 | 3.4% | -5.8% |
| 2017 | 3.1% | -9.0% |
| 2018 | 3.1% | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 3.2% | +5.4% |
| 2020 | 3.3% | +2.9% |
| 2021 | 5.6% | +67.7% |
| 2022 | 4.7% | -15.2% |
| 2023 | 4.9% | +3.8% |
| 2024 | 4.6% | -6.2% |
Rwanda compared with similar countries
- Rwanda's 4.6% is above the median for low income countries, which is 2.8%, 1.6× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Rwanda's 4.6% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.2%, 1.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.3% | 2.2% | 2.4% | 3 |
| 1980s | 3.5% | 2.7% | 4.4% | 5 |
| 1990s | 3.9% | 3.9% | 3.9% | 1 |
| 2000s | 3.9% | 3.4% | 4.8% | 4 |
| 2010s | 3.9% | 3.1% | 4.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.6% | 3.3% | 5.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Rwanda
More education data for Rwanda
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 34,324 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 795,920 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 305,636 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 299,593 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 901,617 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.01 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 5.93 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.2109 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education as a share of gdp in Rwanda?
- Government spending on education as a share of gdp in Rwanda was 4.6% 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 Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 5.6% in 2021.
- What is the lowest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.2% in 1977.
- How does Rwanda rank for government spending on education as a share of gdp?
- Rwanda ranks 76th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is government spending on education as a share of gdp rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Rwanda 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.