Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in Maldives
Maldives: Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government was 9.6% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in Maldives, 2002–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in UIS calculation.
Analysis
Maldives recorded 9.6% for expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 10.0% on the previous year and down 15.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in Maldives peaked at 21.2% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 9.6%, in 2025.
That places Maldives 159th out of 197 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in Maldives, year by year
| Year | UIS calculation | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 21.2% | — |
| 2003 | 20.2% | -4.8% |
| 2004 | 19.4% | -4.0% |
| 2005 | 12.9% | -33.2% |
| 2006 | 13.3% | +2.5% |
| 2007 | 12.7% | -4.3% |
| 2008 | 12.6% | -1.0% |
| 2009 | 13.7% | +9.3% |
| 2010 | 10.9% | -20.3% |
| 2011 | 9.9% | -10.0% |
| 2012 | 11.2% | +13.9% |
| 2013 | 12.6% | +11.9% |
| 2014 | 10.6% | -15.4% |
| 2015 | 11.4% | +7.8% |
| 2016 | 9.8% | -14.4% |
| 2017 | 11.4% | +15.8% |
| 2018 | 11.4% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 12.1% | +5.8% |
| 2020 | 10.5% | -12.9% |
| 2021 | 10.0% | -4.5% |
| 2022 | 11.1% | +10.4% |
| 2023 | 10.6% | -4.0% |
| 2024 | 10.7% | +0.8% |
| 2025 | 9.6% | -10.0% |
Maldives compared with similar countries
- Maldives's 9.6% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 13.2%, 73% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Maldives's 9.6% is below the median for South Asia, which is 11.3%, 85% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 15.7% | 12.6% | 21.2% | 8 |
| 2010s | 11.1% | 9.8% | 12.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.4% | 9.6% | 11.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Maldives
More education data for Maldives
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 3,474 (2022)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 8,838 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 4,920 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 33,002 (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 44,013 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -3.52 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0834 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in Maldives?
- Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in Maldives was 9.6% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest expenditure on education as a percentage of total government recorded in Maldives?
- The highest recorded value was 21.2% in 2002.
- What is the lowest expenditure on education as a percentage of total government recorded in Maldives?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.6% in 2025.
- How does Maldives rank for expenditure on education as a percentage of total government?
- Maldives ranks 159th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is expenditure on education as a percentage of total government rising or falling in Maldives?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Maldives data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government expenditure (%) (UIS calculation). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release