Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong, China: Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP was 0.9% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Hong Kong, China, 1971–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Hong Kong, China is 0.9%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 2.1% on the previous year and up 33.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Hong Kong, China peaked at 1.2% in 1974 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 1996.
Hong Kong, China ranks 123rd of 162 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 41 years of available data.
Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Hong Kong, China, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 1.2% | — |
| 1972 | 1.1% | -7.5% |
| 1973 | 1.2% | +5.9% |
| 1974 | 1.2% | +7.2% |
| 1975 | 1.2% | -6.7% |
| 1976 | 1.1% | -1.6% |
| 1977 | 1.0% | -10.7% |
| 1978 | 0.9% | -6.6% |
| 1980 | 0.7% | -21.8% |
| 1981 | 0.7% | -2.1% |
| 1982 | 0.7% | -2.6% |
| 1983 | 0.8% | +18.6% |
| 1984 | 0.8% | -3.4% |
| 1985 | 0.8% | -0.3% |
| 1990 | 0.7% | -16.9% |
| 1992 | 0.7% | +1.0% |
| 1996 | 0.6% | -14.0% |
| 2001 | 0.9% | +56.9% |
| 2002 | 0.9% | +2.7% |
| 2003 | 1.0% | +7.2% |
| 2004 | 1.0% | +4.5% |
| 2005 | 1.0% | -8.8% |
| 2006 | 0.9% | -10.7% |
| 2007 | 0.7% | -13.1% |
| 2008 | 0.7% | -5.9% |
| 2009 | 0.7% | +2.5% |
| 2010 | 0.7% | +2.7% |
| 2011 | 0.7% | -4.6% |
| 2012 | 0.7% | -6.6% |
| 2013 | 0.7% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 0.7% | +2.1% |
| 2015 | 0.7% | +1.4% |
| 2016 | 0.7% | +2.8% |
| 2017 | 0.7% | +2.2% |
| 2018 | 0.7% | +2.3% |
| 2019 | 0.8% | +3.1% |
| 2020 | 0.8% | +11.2% |
| 2021 | 1.0% | +13.9% |
| 2022 | 0.9% | -5.7% |
| 2023 | 0.9% | +1.8% |
| 2024 | 0.9% | -2.1% |
Hong Kong, China compared with similar countries
- Hong Kong, China's 0.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.1%, 83% of the median. (63 countries reporting)
- Hong Kong, China's 0.9% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.3%, 69% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Hong Kong, China 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | +56.9% | 0.6% | 0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.1% | 0.9% | 1.2% | 8 |
| 1980s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 6 |
| 1990s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 3 |
| 2000s | 0.9% | 0.7% | 1.0% | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Hong Kong, China
- 120 San Marino 0.9% compare
- 121 Austria 0.9% compare
- 122 Iran, Islamic Republic of 0.9% compare
- 124 Trinidad and Tobago 0.9% compare
- 125 Brunei Darussalam 0.9% compare
- 126 Bahrain 0.8% compare
More education data for Hong Kong, China
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 31,678 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 1,605 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 72,557 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 65,737 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 340,877 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 329,780 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.3 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0438 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Hong Kong, China?
- Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Hong Kong, China was 0.9% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Hong Kong, China?
- The highest recorded value was 1.2% in 1974.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Hong Kong, China?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 1996.
- How does Hong Kong, China rank for government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp?
- Hong Kong, China ranks 123rd out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Hong Kong, China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 33.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Hong Kong, China data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 41 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release