Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP was 2.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Ethiopia, 1971–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Ethiopia stood at 2.3%.
The figure is down 21.5% on the previous year and down 50.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Ethiopia peaked at 5.6% in 2012 and was at its lowest, 1.2%, in 1971.
That places Ethiopia 173rd out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 37 years of available data.
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 1.2% | — |
| 1972 | 1.3% | +9.7% |
| 1977 | 2.2% | +64.3% |
| 1978 | 1.9% | -10.4% |
| 1979 | 2.0% | +3.6% |
| 1980 | 1.8% | -9.4% |
| 1981 | 1.9% | +2.3% |
| 1982 | 2.1% | +10.9% |
| 1983 | 2.2% | +9.0% |
| 1984 | 2.1% | -8.3% |
| 1985 | 2.3% | +10.7% |
| 1986 | 2.1% | -8.5% |
| 1993 | 2.3% | +10.1% |
| 1996 | 2.7% | +17.9% |
| 1997 | 2.7% | -0.6% |
| 2000 | 3.9% | +44.4% |
| 2001 | 3.7% | -4.8% |
| 2002 | 3.6% | -1.8% |
| 2006 | 5.5% | +51.2% |
| 2007 | 5.5% | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 5.4% | -0.8% |
| 2009 | 4.4% | -18.2% |
| 2010 | 4.5% | +1.7% |
| 2011 | 5.5% | +22.0% |
| 2012 | 5.6% | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 4.5% | -19.2% |
| 2014 | 4.6% | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 4.7% | +3.0% |
| 2016 | 5.1% | +6.8% |
| 2017 | 5.5% | +8.6% |
| 2018 | 5.2% | -5.1% |
| 2019 | 4.5% | -14.2% |
| 2020 | 4.1% | -8.7% |
| 2021 | 4.1% | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 3.7% | -8.1% |
| 2023 | 2.9% | -21.7% |
| 2024 | 2.3% | -21.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.7% | 1.2% | 2.2% | 5 |
| 1980s | 2.1% | 1.8% | 2.3% | 7 |
| 1990s | 2.6% | 2.3% | 2.7% | 3 |
| 2000s | 4.6% | 3.6% | 5.5% | 7 |
| 2010s | 5.0% | 4.5% | 5.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.4% | 2.3% | 4.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
More education data for Ethiopia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 272,545 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 900,151 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 2.32 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 2.16 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 5.03 million (2015)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 15.93 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.45 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1206 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Ethiopia?
- Government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Ethiopia was 2.3% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 5.6% in 2012.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.2% in 1971.
- How does Ethiopia rank for government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp?
- Ethiopia ranks 173rd out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 50.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ethiopia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 37 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release