Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Zambia
Zambia: Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP was 4.1% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
4.1%
Change on year
up 11.3%
World rank
105th
of 199 countries
All-time high
6.2%
in 1975
All-time low
1.1%
in 2008
Years of data
44
1970–2023
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Zambia, 1970–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Zambia stood at 4.1%.
That represents a change of up 11.3% on the previous year and up 9.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Zambia peaked at 6.2% in 1975 and was at its lowest, 1.1%, in 2008.
Zambia ranks 105th of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 44 years of available data.
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Zambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 4.4% | — |
| 1971 | 6.1% | +38.9% |
| 1972 | 5.9% | -2.5% |
| 1973 | 5.5% | -7.7% |
| 1974 | 4.9% | -11.1% |
| 1975 | 6.2% | +27.9% |
| 1976 | 6.0% | -3.4% |
| 1977 | 5.7% | -5.5% |
| 1978 | 4.7% | -16.7% |
| 1979 | 4.2% | -12.4% |
| 1980 | 4.1% | -0.7% |
| 1981 | 4.0% | -3.1% |
| 1982 | 5.2% | +28.8% |
| 1983 | 5.4% | +4.5% |
| 1984 | 5.0% | -7.4% |
| 1985 | 4.1% | -16.9% |
| 1986 | 3.3% | -19.5% |
| 1987 | 2.7% | -20.3% |
| 1991 | 2.7% | +2.9% |
| 1992 | 2.1% | -23.7% |
| 1993 | 1.9% | -7.1% |
| 1994 | 1.8% | -7.6% |
| 1995 | 1.8% | +2.5% |
| 1998 | 2.1% | +15.2% |
| 1999 | 1.8% | -16.2% |
| 2000 | 1.8% | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 2.5% | +37.8% |
| 2005 | 1.7% | -29.5% |
| 2007 | 1.2% | -28.5% |
| 2008 | 1.1% | -11.4% |
| 2010 | 3.4% | +210.6% |
| 2011 | 3.4% | -1.7% |
| 2012 | 3.7% | +10.0% |
| 2013 | 3.7% | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 5.2% | +38.6% |
| 2015 | 4.6% | -10.2% |
| 2016 | 3.7% | -19.0% |
| 2017 | 3.7% | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 4.7% | +27.1% |
| 2019 | 4.4% | -6.8% |
| 2020 | 3.9% | -10.7% |
| 2021 | 3.1% | -21.0% |
| 2022 | 3.7% | +17.5% |
| 2023 | 4.1% | +11.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.4% | 4.2% | 6.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.2% | 2.7% | 5.4% | 8 |
| 1990s | 2.0% | 1.8% | 2.7% | 7 |
| 2000s | 1.7% | 1.1% | 2.5% | 5 |
| 2010s | 4.1% | 3.4% | 5.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.7% | 3.1% | 4.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More education data for Zambia
- 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)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 4.49 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Zambia?
- Government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Zambia was 4.1% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 6.2% in 1975.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.1% in 2008.
- How does Zambia rank for government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp?
- Zambia ranks 105th out of 199 countries with data for 2023.
- Is government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp 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 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 — 44 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release