Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Eswatini

Eswatini: Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP was 0.6% in 2021. ▼ Falling

Latest (2021)
0.6%
Change on year
down 10.4%
World rank
110th
of 173 countries
All-time high
2.0%
in 2000
All-time low
0.5%
in 1980
Years of data
35
1976–2021

Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Eswatini, 1976–2021

0.511.521976199820211976: 0.916 %1977: 0.951 %1978: 1.8 %1979: 0.797 %1980: 0.456 %1981: 0.734 %1982: 0.597 %1987: 1.2 %1988: 1.1 %1989: 1.5 %1990: 1.2 %1994: 1.7 %1995: 1.6 %1996: 1.4 %1999: 1.6 %2000: 2 %2001: 1.1 %2002: 0.997 %2003: 1.5 %2004: 1.4 %2005: 1.6 %2006: 1.4 %2008: 1.4 %2009: 1.4 %2010: 1 %2011: 0.881 %2013: 0.763 %2014: 0.971 %2015: 0.747 %2016: 0.755 %2017: 0.701 %2018: 0.733 %2019: 0.672 %2020: 0.7 %2021: 0.628 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Eswatini is 0.6%, measured in 2021.

That represents a change of down 10.4% on the previous year and down 28.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Eswatini peaked at 2.0% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 1980.

Eswatini ranks 110th of 173 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.

Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Eswatini, year by year

Annual values for Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP (%) in Eswatini, 1976 to 2021.
Year % Change
1976 0.9%
1977 1.0% +3.8%
1978 1.8% +86.8%
1979 0.8% -55.1%
1980 0.5% -42.8%
1981 0.7% +61.1%
1982 0.6% -18.7%
1987 1.2% +94.7%
1988 1.1% -1.7%
1989 1.5% +30.0%
1990 1.2% -19.7%
1994 1.7% +44.2%
1995 1.6% -5.1%
1996 1.4% -13.5%
1999 1.6% +15.7%
2000 2.0% +24.0%
2001 1.1% -46.1%
2002 1.0% -8.6%
2003 1.5% +48.9%
2004 1.4% -3.1%
2005 1.6% +7.9%
2006 1.4% -10.0%
2008 1.4% +2.1%
2009 1.4% -1.0%
2010 1.0% -28.2%
2011 0.9% -13.1%
2013 0.8% -13.4%
2014 1.0% +27.2%
2015 0.7% -23.1%
2016 0.8% +1.1%
2017 0.7% -7.3%
2018 0.7% +4.6%
2019 0.7% -8.3%
2020 0.7% +4.3%
2021 0.6% -10.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 1.1% 0.8% 1.8% 4
1980s 0.9% 0.5% 1.5% 6
1990s 1.5% 1.2% 1.7% 5
2000s 1.4% 1.0% 2.0% 9
2010s 0.8% 0.7% 1.0% 9
2020s 0.7% 0.6% 0.7% 2

Countries ranked near Eswatini

  1. 107 Niger 0.7% compare
  2. 108 Latvia 0.6% compare
  3. 109 Afghanistan 0.6% compare
  4. 111 Aruba 0.6% compare
  5. 112 Kenya 0.6% compare
  6. 113 Seychelles 0.6% compare

See the full ranking of 173 places →

More education data for Eswatini

All data for Eswatini →

Frequently asked questions

What is government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Eswatini?
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Eswatini was 0.6% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Eswatini?
The highest recorded value was 2.0% in 2000.
What is the lowest government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Eswatini?
The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 1980.
How does Eswatini rank for government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp?
Eswatini ranks 110th out of 173 countries with data for 2021.
Is government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Eswatini?
Over the last ten years it is down 28.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Eswatini data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Eswatini. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/government-expenditure-on-tertiary-education-as-a-percentage-of-gdp-percent/eswatini/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/government-expenditure-on-tertiary-education-as-a-percentage-of-gdp-percent/eswatini/">Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Eswatini</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
173 places, 3,953 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release