Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP (%) by country

Countries reporting
31
Highest
2.98
Cuba
Lowest
0.0515
Dominican Republic
Median
0.7952
Years covered
54
1970–2023
Data points
627

What the numbers show

Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP (%) is currently reported for 31 countries. The highest value is 2.98 in Cuba; the lowest is 0.0515 in Dominican Republic.

The median across all reporting countries is 0.7952, and the mean is 0.8273.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 58.

Over the past decade 14 countries rose and 16 fell. The largest increase was in Cuba (up 192.2%), and the largest decrease in Dominican Republic (down 86.7%).

Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Cuba 2.98 2007 up 192.2% rising
2 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 1.66 2022 up 3.4% rising
3 Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of 1.55 2009 down 10.6% flat
4 Costa Rica 1.32 2021 up 5.6% falling
5 Chile 1.29 2021 up 45.8% rising
6 Barbados 1.27 2023 down 33.3% rising
7 Ecuador 1.08 2023 down 31.8% volatile
8 Jamaica 1.08 2022 up 0.2% rising
9 Brazil 1.02 2021 up 6.5% rising
10 Nicaragua 0.9721 2023 down 16.8% volatile
11 Argentina 0.9699 2022 down 9.0% rising
12 Mexico 0.8784 2021 down 1.2% rising
13 Honduras 0.8781 2015 down 1.3% rising
14 Colombia 0.8469 1999 up 66.6% rising
15 British Virgin Islands 0.8135 2022 down 21.8% rising
16 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0.7952 2022 up 135.9% volatile
17 Peru 0.6953 2023 up 25.3% rising
18 Paraguay 0.6695 2023 down 18.5% rising
19 Panama 0.6398 2022 down 8.2% rising
20 Uruguay 0.6269 2023 down 44.2% rising
21 Trinidad and Tobago 0.6098 2023 down 48.9% rising
22 Saint Kitts and Nevis 0.5045 2023 up 17.0% rising
23 Turks and Caicos Islands 0.4333 2022 down 37.5% falling
24 Antigua and Barbuda 0.4012 2020 up 145.4% falling
25 Belize 0.39 2023 down 44.2% rising
26 Guatemala 0.3694 2023 up 4.0% rising
27 El Salvador 0.3408 2023 up 9.3% rising
28 Saint Lucia 0.2769 2023 up 53.6% volatile
29 Guyana 0.1135 2012 down 72.1% volatile
30 Haiti 0.1073 2021 flat
31 Dominican Republic 0.0515 2023 down 86.7% volatile

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Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP by country. Statizoid, drawing on UNICEF. Retrieved 09 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/government-expenditure-on-tertiary-education-as-a-percentage-of-gdp-percent-2/

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About this data

Indicator
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP (%)
Source
UNICEF
Licence
UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
31 places, 627 data points, 1970–2023
Last refreshed