Government spending on education as a share of GDP in East Timor
East Timor: Government spending on education as a share of GDP was 5.2% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in East Timor, 2008–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
East Timor recorded 5.2% for government spending on education as a share of gdp in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 76.2% on the previous year and down 7.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education as a share of gdp in East Timor peaked at 12.9% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 3.0%, in 2021.
East Timor ranks 53rd of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in East Timor, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 8.7% | — |
| 2009 | 12.9% | +48.8% |
| 2010 | 11.1% | -13.9% |
| 2011 | 10.2% | -8.2% |
| 2012 | 7.2% | -29.7% |
| 2013 | 5.7% | -20.9% |
| 2014 | 7.5% | +32.6% |
| 2015 | 8.5% | +12.7% |
| 2016 | 8.1% | -4.0% |
| 2017 | 7.2% | -11.8% |
| 2018 | 6.8% | -4.5% |
| 2019 | 4.2% | -39.0% |
| 2020 | 3.7% | -12.6% |
| 2021 | 3.0% | -18.6% |
| 2023 | 5.2% | +76.2% |
East Timor compared with similar countries
- East Timor's 5.2% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.0%, 1.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- East Timor's 5.2% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 4.2%, 1.2× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 10.8% | 8.7% | 12.9% | 2 |
| 2010s | 7.6% | 4.2% | 11.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.0% | 3.0% | 5.2% | 3 |
Countries ranked near East Timor
More education data for East Timor
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 6,182 (2020)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 140 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 13,267 (2020)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 13,390 (2020)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 162,113 (2020)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 227,656 (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.28 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1645 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education as a share of gdp in East Timor?
- Government spending on education as a share of gdp in East Timor was 5.2% in 2023, 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 East Timor?
- The highest recorded value was 12.9% in 2009.
- What is the lowest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in East Timor?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.0% in 2021.
- How does East Timor rank for government spending on education as a share of gdp?
- East Timor ranks 53rd out of 199 countries with data for 2023.
- Is government spending on education as a share of gdp rising or falling in East Timor?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this East Timor 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.