Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Samoa
Samoa: Government spending on education as a share of GDP was 5.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Samoa, 1999–2024
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 Samoa stood at 5.5%.
That represents a change of down 10.7% on the previous year and up 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education as a share of gdp in Samoa peaked at 6.2% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 3.6%, in 2000.
Samoa ranks 38th of 199 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Samoa, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 4.0% | — |
| 2000 | 3.6% | -9.6% |
| 2001 | 4.0% | +9.5% |
| 2002 | 3.9% | -0.9% |
| 2008 | 5.1% | +29.9% |
| 2011 | 4.8% | -6.7% |
| 2012 | 4.9% | +2.5% |
| 2013 | 4.6% | -5.7% |
| 2014 | 5.4% | +17.3% |
| 2015 | 4.4% | -18.3% |
| 2016 | 4.0% | -10.0% |
| 2017 | 4.2% | +5.2% |
| 2018 | 4.5% | +6.8% |
| 2019 | 4.6% | +2.5% |
| 2020 | 4.5% | -1.8% |
| 2021 | 5.2% | +15.8% |
| 2022 | 6.2% | +18.1% |
| 2023 | 6.1% | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 5.5% | -10.7% |
Samoa compared with similar countries
- Samoa's 5.5% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 4.2%, 1.3× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Samoa's 5.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 4.2%, 1.3× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 4.0% | 4.0% | 4.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 4.2% | 3.6% | 5.1% | 4 |
| 2010s | 4.6% | 4.0% | 5.4% | 9 |
| 2020s | 5.5% | 4.5% | 6.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Samoa
More education data for Samoa
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 1,211 (2010)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 397 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 2,580 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 2,585 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 25,964 (2016)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 34,962 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.1171 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1604 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education as a share of gdp in Samoa?
- Government spending on education as a share of gdp in Samoa was 5.5% 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 Samoa?
- The highest recorded value was 6.2% in 2022.
- What is the lowest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in Samoa?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.6% in 2000.
- How does Samoa rank for government spending on education as a share of gdp?
- Samoa ranks 38th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is government spending on education as a share of gdp rising or falling in Samoa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Samoa 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.