Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Sao Tome and Principe
Sao Tome and Principe: Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP was 5.0% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Sao Tome and Principe, 2002–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sao Tome and Principe recorded 5.0% for government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in 2023.
That represents a change of down 3.2% on the previous year and down 24.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Sao Tome and Principe peaked at 10.0% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 2.7%, in 2002.
That places Sao Tome and Principe 65th 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 22 years of available data.
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Sao Tome and Principe, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 2.7% | — |
| 2003 | 3.2% | +19.3% |
| 2004 | 3.2% | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 4.9% | +50.1% |
| 2006 | 4.3% | -12.1% |
| 2007 | 6.3% | +47.2% |
| 2008 | 5.6% | -11.6% |
| 2009 | 10.0% | +79.9% |
| 2010 | 10.0% | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 8.8% | -12.0% |
| 2012 | 6.9% | -21.2% |
| 2013 | 6.7% | -3.5% |
| 2014 | 4.4% | -33.7% |
| 2015 | 4.7% | +6.0% |
| 2016 | 6.1% | +30.2% |
| 2017 | 5.9% | -3.9% |
| 2018 | 5.6% | -4.3% |
| 2019 | 6.1% | +8.6% |
| 2020 | 5.0% | -17.6% |
| 2021 | 5.5% | +10.2% |
| 2022 | 5.2% | -6.2% |
| 2023 | 5.0% | -3.2% |
Sao Tome and Principe compared with similar countries
- Sao Tome and Principe's 5.0% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.0%, 1.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Sao Tome and Principe's 5.0% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.2%, 1.6× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Sao Tome and Principe 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | +79.9% | 5.6% | 10.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.0% | 2.7% | 10.0% | 8 |
| 2010s | 6.5% | 4.4% | 10.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.2% | 5.0% | 5.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sao Tome and Principe
More education data for Sao Tome and Principe
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 936 (2016)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 4,544 (2017)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 4,458 (2016)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 4,769 (2016)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 25,875 (2017)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 37,172 (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.14 % change on previous year (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2017)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1796 units per person (2017)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Sao Tome and Principe?
- Government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Sao Tome and Principe was 5.0% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Sao Tome and Principe?
- The highest recorded value was 10.0% in 2009.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Sao Tome and Principe?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.7% in 2002.
- How does Sao Tome and Principe rank for government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp?
- Sao Tome and Principe ranks 65th out of 199 countries with data for 2023.
- Is government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Sao Tome and Principe?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sao Tome and Principe 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.
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release