Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Jamaica
Jamaica: Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP was 1.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Jamaica, 1973–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Jamaica stood at 1.0%.
That represents a change of down 4.3% on the previous year and down 2.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Jamaica peaked at 1.4% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 1973.
Jamaica ranks 51st of 173 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 38 years of available data.
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Jamaica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 0.3% | — |
| 1974 | 0.4% | +41.2% |
| 1975 | 1.0% | +151.0% |
| 1976 | 1.1% | +10.8% |
| 1977 | 1.1% | +5.9% |
| 1985 | 1.0% | -8.7% |
| 1986 | 0.9% | -14.3% |
| 1988 | 0.8% | -13.4% |
| 1989 | 1.0% | +28.6% |
| 1990 | 0.9% | -13.6% |
| 1991 | 0.9% | +6.0% |
| 1992 | 0.7% | -17.7% |
| 1993 | 0.8% | +8.7% |
| 1994 | 0.8% | -3.1% |
| 1995 | 0.8% | +2.3% |
| 1996 | 0.8% | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 0.9% | +17.1% |
| 2001 | 1.1% | +22.5% |
| 2002 | 1.0% | -10.3% |
| 2003 | 0.6% | -38.8% |
| 2004 | 0.7% | +17.0% |
| 2005 | 1.0% | +38.3% |
| 2007 | 1.1% | +7.7% |
| 2008 | 1.0% | -11.4% |
| 2009 | 1.3% | +29.2% |
| 2010 | 1.4% | +10.7% |
| 2011 | 1.2% | -10.7% |
| 2012 | 1.1% | -13.7% |
| 2013 | 1.1% | +2.6% |
| 2014 | 1.1% | -4.4% |
| 2015 | 0.9% | -9.9% |
| 2016 | 1.0% | +2.1% |
| 2017 | 1.0% | +4.6% |
| 2018 | 1.1% | +4.7% |
| 2019 | 0.9% | -13.3% |
| 2021 | 1.1% | +20.7% |
| 2022 | 1.1% | -3.1% |
| 2024 | 1.0% | -4.3% |
Jamaica compared with similar countries
- Jamaica's 1.0% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.7%, 1.4× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Jamaica's 1.0% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.8%, 1.3× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Jamaica 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | +151.0% | 0.4% | 1.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.8% | 0.3% | 1.1% | 5 |
| 1980s | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 4 |
| 1990s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 8 |
| 2000s | 1.0% | 0.6% | 1.3% | 8 |
| 2010s | 1.1% | 0.9% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
More education data for Jamaica
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 11,043 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 4,597 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 52,983 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 51,265 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 177,095 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 211,097 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 8.14 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0744 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Jamaica?
- Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Jamaica was 1.0% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 1.4% in 2010.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 1973.
- How does Jamaica rank for government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp?
- Jamaica ranks 51st out of 173 countries with data for 2024.
- Is government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Jamaica 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 — 38 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release