Government spending on education as a share of GDP in South Africa
South Africa: Government spending on education as a share of GDP was 6.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in South Africa, 1987–2024
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 South Africa stood at 6.0%.
That represents a change of down 1.7% on the previous year and up 9.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education as a share of gdp in South Africa peaked at 6.6% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 4.4%, in 2003.
That places South Africa 28th out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 4.7% | 4.4% | 4.9% | 3 |
| 1990s | 5.2% | 4.7% | 5.4% | 6 |
| 2000s | 4.6% | 4.4% | 4.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.5% | 5.1% | 5.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.2% | 6.0% | 6.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More education data for South Africa
- Duration of pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 67.4% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 25.7% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 14 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 101.8% (2023)
- Primary education, teachers 287,310 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 2.21 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 99.2% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education as a share of gdp in South Africa?
- Government spending on education as a share of gdp in South Africa was 6.0% 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 South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 6.6% in 2021.
- What is the lowest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.4% in 2003.
- How does South Africa rank for government spending on education as a share of gdp?
- South Africa ranks 28th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is government spending on education as a share of gdp rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa 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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CSV · JSON — 34 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.