Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Uganda
Uganda: Government spending on education as a share of GDP was 2.6% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Uganda, 1971–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Uganda recorded 2.6% for government spending on education as a share of gdp in 2022.
That represents a change of down 2.8% on the previous year and up 42.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education as a share of gdp in Uganda peaked at 5.1% in 1988 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 1983.
Uganda ranks 164th of 199 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Uganda, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 3.2% | — |
| 1973 | 3.4% | +6.0% |
| 1974 | 3.4% | +1.2% |
| 1975 | 3.2% | -5.0% |
| 1976 | 2.7% | -16.9% |
| 1982 | 2.5% | -6.0% |
| 1983 | 1.7% | -32.9% |
| 1984 | 2.4% | +43.8% |
| 1985 | 3.4% | +41.3% |
| 1988 | 5.1% | +48.7% |
| 2000 | 2.5% | -51.8% |
| 2004 | 5.0% | +101.2% |
| 2010 | 1.7% | -65.1% |
| 2011 | 2.3% | +33.1% |
| 2012 | 1.8% | -21.8% |
| 2013 | 1.9% | +4.1% |
| 2014 | 1.9% | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 2.3% | +21.2% |
| 2016 | 2.1% | -7.9% |
| 2017 | 2.3% | +5.4% |
| 2018 | 2.1% | -5.5% |
| 2019 | 2.3% | +8.3% |
| 2020 | 2.6% | +11.4% |
| 2021 | 2.6% | +2.5% |
| 2022 | 2.6% | -2.8% |
Uganda compared with similar countries
- Uganda's 2.6% is below the median for low income countries, which is 2.8%, 91% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Uganda's 2.6% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.2%, 80% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Uganda 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | +101.2% | 2.5% | 5.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.2% | 2.7% | 3.4% | 5 |
| 1980s | 3.0% | 1.7% | 5.1% | 5 |
| 2000s | 3.7% | 2.5% | 5.0% | 2 |
| 2010s | 2.1% | 1.7% | 2.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Uganda
More education data for Uganda
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 63,957 (2014)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 778,349 (2017)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 301,523 (2017)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 307,450 (2017)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.03 million (2007)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 8.84 million (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.13 % change on previous year (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.22 units per person (2017)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education as a share of gdp in Uganda?
- Government spending on education as a share of gdp in Uganda was 2.6% in 2022, 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 Uganda?
- The highest recorded value was 5.1% in 1988.
- What is the lowest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in Uganda?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 1983.
- How does Uganda rank for government spending on education as a share of gdp?
- Uganda ranks 164th out of 199 countries with data for 2022.
- Is government spending on education as a share of gdp rising or falling in Uganda?
- Over the last ten years it is up 42.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Uganda 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.