Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago: Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP was 0.9% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Trinidad and Tobago, 1980–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Trinidad and Tobago recorded 0.9% for government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in 2023.
That represents a change of up 22.5% on the previous year and down 42.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Trinidad and Tobago peaked at 2.5% in 1985 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 2022.
That places Trinidad and Tobago 124th out of 162 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 18 years of available data.
Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of GDP in Trinidad and Tobago, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 1.4% | — |
| 1982 | 2.4% | +70.4% |
| 1983 | 2.3% | -1.0% |
| 1984 | 2.4% | +3.0% |
| 1985 | 2.5% | +2.4% |
| 1989 | 1.8% | -27.3% |
| 1990 | 1.6% | -13.0% |
| 2000 | 1.4% | -11.3% |
| 2001 | 1.4% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 1.7% | +23.3% |
| 2003 | 1.2% | -28.1% |
| 2007 | 0.9% | -30.6% |
| 2008 | 1.0% | +20.9% |
| 2009 | 1.5% | +45.0% |
| 2020 | 1.3% | -10.9% |
| 2021 | 0.8% | -42.1% |
| 2022 | 0.7% | -8.4% |
| 2023 | 0.9% | +22.5% |
Trinidad and Tobago compared with similar countries
- Trinidad and Tobago's 0.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.1%, 80% of the median. (63 countries reporting)
- Trinidad and Tobago's 0.9% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 1.4%, 64% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 2.1% | 1.4% | 2.5% | 6 |
| 1990s | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1 |
| 2000s | 1.3% | 0.9% | 1.7% | 7 |
| 2020s | 0.9% | 0.7% | 1.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Trinidad and Tobago
- 121 Austria 0.9% compare
- 122 Iran, Islamic Republic of 0.9% compare
- 123 Hong Kong, China 0.9% compare
- 125 Brunei Darussalam 0.9% compare
- 126 Bahrain 0.8% compare
- 127 Seychelles 0.8% compare
More education data for Trinidad and Tobago
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7,950 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 8,036 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 12,546 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 12,926 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 91,195 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 126,491 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.94 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0924 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Trinidad and Tobago?
- Government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp in Trinidad and Tobago was 0.9% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Trinidad and Tobago?
- The highest recorded value was 2.5% in 1985.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Trinidad and Tobago?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 2022.
- How does Trinidad and Tobago rank for government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp?
- Trinidad and Tobago ranks 124th out of 162 countries with data for 2023.
- Is government expenditure on primary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Trinidad and Tobago?
- Over the last ten years it is down 42.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Trinidad and Tobago 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.
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CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release