Education spending in Zambia
Zambia: Education spending was 4.07 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Education spending in Zambia, 1970–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2023, education spending in Zambia stood at 4.07.
The figure is up 11.3% on the previous year and up 9.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, education spending in Zambia peaked at 6.24 in 1975 and was at its lowest, 1.1, in 2008.
That places Zambia 105th out of 199 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 44 years of available data.
Education spending in Zambia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 4.39 | — |
| 1971 | 6.1 | +38.9% |
| 1972 | 5.95 | -2.5% |
| 1973 | 5.49 | -7.7% |
| 1974 | 4.88 | -11.1% |
| 1975 | 6.24 | +27.9% |
| 1976 | 6.03 | -3.4% |
| 1977 | 5.69 | -5.5% |
| 1978 | 4.74 | -16.7% |
| 1979 | 4.15 | -12.4% |
| 1980 | 4.13 | -0.7% |
| 1981 | 4 | -3.1% |
| 1982 | 5.15 | +28.8% |
| 1983 | 5.39 | +4.5% |
| 1984 | 4.99 | -7.4% |
| 1985 | 4.15 | -16.9% |
| 1986 | 3.34 | -19.5% |
| 1987 | 2.66 | -20.3% |
| 1991 | 2.74 | +2.9% |
| 1992 | 2.09 | -23.7% |
| 1993 | 1.94 | -7.1% |
| 1994 | 1.79 | -7.6% |
| 1995 | 1.84 | +2.5% |
| 1998 | 2.12 | +15.2% |
| 1999 | 1.77 | -16.2% |
| 2000 | 1.79 | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 2.46 | +37.8% |
| 2005 | 1.74 | -29.5% |
| 2007 | 1.24 | -28.5% |
| 2008 | 1.1 | -11.4% |
| 2010 | 3.42 | +210.6% |
| 2011 | 3.36 | -1.7% |
| 2012 | 3.69 | +10.0% |
| 2013 | 3.72 | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 5.15 | +38.6% |
| 2015 | 4.62 | -10.2% |
| 2016 | 3.75 | -19.0% |
| 2017 | 3.73 | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 4.74 | +27.1% |
| 2019 | 4.42 | -6.8% |
| 2020 | 3.94 | -10.7% |
| 2021 | 3.11 | -21.0% |
| 2022 | 3.66 | +17.5% |
| 2023 | 4.07 | +11.3% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 4.07 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.02, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 4.07 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.2, 1.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Education spending in Zambia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | +210.6% | 1.1 | 3.42 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.36 | 4.15 | 6.24 | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.23 | 2.66 | 5.39 | 8 |
| 1990s | 2.04 | 1.77 | 2.74 | 7 |
| 2000s | 1.67 | 1.1 | 2.46 | 5 |
| 2010s | 4.06 | 3.36 | 5.15 | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.7 | 3.11 | 4.07 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More education data for Zambia
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 86.21 (2017)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 96.49 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 42,585 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 169,961 (2013)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.39 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.49 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.55 % change on previous year (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.2106 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is education spending in Zambia?
- Education spending in Zambia was 4.07 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest education spending recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 6.24 in 1975.
- What is the lowest education spending recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.1 in 2008.
- How does Zambia rank for education spending?
- Zambia ranks 105th out of 199 countries with data for 2023.
- Is education spending rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Education spending. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 44 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).