Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Iran, Islamic Republic of
Iran, Islamic Republic of: Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP was 0.9% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Iran, Islamic Republic of, 1971–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Iran, Islamic Republic of recorded 0.9% for government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in 2022.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 17.0% on the previous year and up 21.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Iran, Islamic Republic of peaked at 3.0% in 1981 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 2015.
Iran, Islamic Republic of ranks 122nd of 162 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 42 years of available data.
Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Iran, Islamic Republic of, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 1.3% | — |
| 1972 | 1.2% | -9.0% |
| 1973 | 1.2% | -4.1% |
| 1974 | 1.0% | -16.1% |
| 1975 | 0.8% | -14.9% |
| 1977 | 1.0% | +19.6% |
| 1981 | 3.0% | +199.3% |
| 1982 | 2.4% | -21.2% |
| 1983 | 1.6% | -30.9% |
| 1984 | 1.4% | -13.0% |
| 1985 | 1.4% | -0.8% |
| 1986 | 1.4% | -0.1% |
| 1987 | 1.7% | +20.7% |
| 1988 | 1.5% | -10.9% |
| 1989 | 1.6% | +5.6% |
| 1990 | 1.5% | -8.5% |
| 1991 | 1.3% | -13.7% |
| 1992 | 1.2% | -2.6% |
| 1993 | 1.4% | +12.1% |
| 1995 | 1.1% | -21.6% |
| 1996 | 1.0% | -4.6% |
| 2001 | 1.1% | +2.0% |
| 2002 | 1.2% | +10.8% |
| 2003 | 1.1% | -9.3% |
| 2004 | 1.0% | -5.5% |
| 2005 | 0.9% | -8.8% |
| 2006 | 1.2% | +33.8% |
| 2007 | 1.3% | +8.2% |
| 2008 | 1.1% | -17.3% |
| 2009 | 1.0% | -10.5% |
| 2010 | 0.9% | -6.2% |
| 2011 | 0.9% | +3.6% |
| 2012 | 0.7% | -21.3% |
| 2013 | 0.7% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 0.7% | -5.9% |
| 2015 | 0.7% | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 0.9% | +30.3% |
| 2017 | 1.0% | +13.8% |
| 2018 | 1.2% | +14.9% |
| 2019 | 1.1% | -8.5% |
| 2020 | 1.1% | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 0.9% | -17.0% |
Iran, Islamic Republic of compared with similar countries
- Iran, Islamic Republic of's 0.9% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.4%, 66% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Iran, Islamic Republic of's 0.9% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 1.4%, 63% of the median. (15 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Iran, Islamic Republic of 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | +199.3% | 1.0% | 3.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.3% | 6 |
| 1980s | 1.8% | 1.4% | 3.0% | 9 |
| 1990s | 1.2% | 1.0% | 1.5% | 6 |
| 2000s | 1.1% | 0.9% | 1.3% | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.9% | 0.7% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.1% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Iran, Islamic Republic of
- 119 Bulgaria 0.9% compare
- 120 San Marino 0.9% compare
- 121 Austria 0.9% compare
- 123 Hong Kong, China 0.9% compare
- 124 Trinidad and Tobago 0.9% compare
- 125 Brunei Darussalam 0.9% compare
More education data for Iran, Islamic Republic of
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 406,399 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 108,066 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 519,698 (2020)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 505,053 (2020)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 6.62 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 9.09 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 3.31 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1003 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Iran, Islamic Republic of?
- Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Iran, Islamic Republic of was 0.9% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Iran, Islamic Republic of?
- The highest recorded value was 3.0% in 1981.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Iran, Islamic Republic of?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 2015.
- How does Iran, Islamic Republic of rank for government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp?
- Iran, Islamic Republic of ranks 122nd out of 162 countries with data for 2022.
- Is government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Iran, Islamic Republic of?
- Over the last ten years it is up 21.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iran, Islamic Republic of 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 — 42 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release