Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Tonga
Tonga: Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP was 5.3% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Tonga, 1984–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2022, government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Tonga stood at 5.3%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.9% on the previous year and up 14.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Tonga peaked at 10.3% in 1984 and was at its lowest, 3.8%, in 2002.
That places Tonga 49th out of 199 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Tonga, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 10.3% | — |
| 1998 | 5.5% | -46.7% |
| 1999 | 5.4% | -2.5% |
| 2000 | 4.9% | -9.3% |
| 2001 | 4.5% | -8.2% |
| 2002 | 3.8% | -15.2% |
| 2003 | 4.2% | +9.6% |
| 2004 | 3.9% | -5.9% |
| 2017 | 4.6% | +18.5% |
| 2018 | 4.7% | +1.7% |
| 2019 | 4.9% | +3.1% |
| 2020 | 5.0% | +3.8% |
| 2021 | 5.2% | +2.3% |
| 2022 | 5.3% | +2.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 10.3% | 10.3% | 10.3% | 1 |
| 1990s | 5.4% | 5.4% | 5.5% | 2 |
| 2000s | 4.2% | 3.8% | 4.9% | 5 |
| 2010s | 4.7% | 4.6% | 4.9% | 3 |
| 2020s | 5.2% | 5.0% | 5.3% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
More education data for Tonga
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 1,086 (2015)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 20 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1,228 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1,164 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 16,132 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 15,644 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.92 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1502 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Tonga?
- Government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Tonga was 5.3% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 10.3% in 1984.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.8% in 2002.
- How does Tonga rank for government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp?
- Tonga ranks 49th out of 199 countries with data for 2022.
- Is government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Tonga 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 — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release