Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Uruguay
Uruguay: Government spending on education as a share of GDP was 4.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Uruguay, 1979–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2023, government spending on education as a share of gdp in Uruguay stood at 4.8%. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 6.4% on the previous year and up 12.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education as a share of gdp in Uruguay peaked at 4.8% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 2.0%, in 1979.
That places Uruguay 71st out of 199 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Uruguay, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 2.0% | — |
| 1980 | 2.2% | +8.7% |
| 1984 | 2.4% | +9.9% |
| 1985 | 2.6% | +8.1% |
| 1986 | 3.1% | +20.9% |
| 1991 | 2.5% | -20.1% |
| 1992 | 2.4% | -2.7% |
| 1994 | 2.3% | -5.8% |
| 1995 | 2.5% | +11.0% |
| 1996 | 2.9% | +13.8% |
| 1998 | 2.2% | -21.8% |
| 2000 | 2.4% | +8.0% |
| 2001 | 2.8% | +15.6% |
| 2002 | 2.3% | -17.1% |
| 2003 | 2.1% | -10.9% |
| 2004 | 2.5% | +20.9% |
| 2005 | 2.7% | +8.6% |
| 2006 | 2.9% | +5.2% |
| 2011 | 4.1% | +45.3% |
| 2012 | 4.1% | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 4.2% | +3.6% |
| 2014 | 4.3% | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 4.2% | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 4.4% | +3.8% |
| 2017 | 4.4% | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 4.6% | +4.2% |
| 2019 | 4.6% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 4.6% | -1.6% |
| 2021 | 4.5% | -2.0% |
| 2022 | 4.5% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 4.8% | +6.4% |
Uruguay compared with similar countries
- Uruguay's 4.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 4.4%, 1.1× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- Uruguay's 4.8% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 4.1%, 1.2× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.0% | 2.0% | 2.0% | 1 |
| 1980s | 2.6% | 2.2% | 3.1% | 4 |
| 1990s | 2.5% | 2.2% | 2.9% | 6 |
| 2000s | 2.5% | 2.1% | 2.9% | 7 |
| 2010s | 4.3% | 4.1% | 4.6% | 9 |
| 2020s | 4.6% | 4.5% | 4.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Uruguay
More education data for Uruguay
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 25,390 (2010)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 2,520 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 57,513 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 54,922 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 337,808 (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 287,527 (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.35 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0849 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education as a share of gdp in Uruguay?
- Government spending on education as a share of gdp in Uruguay was 4.8% 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 Uruguay?
- The highest recorded value was 4.8% in 2023.
- What is the lowest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in Uruguay?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.0% in 1979.
- How does Uruguay rank for government spending on education as a share of gdp?
- Uruguay ranks 71st out of 199 countries with data for 2023.
- Is government spending on education as a share of gdp rising or falling in Uruguay?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Uruguay 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.