International expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: International expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP was 0.1% in 2018. ▲ Rising
International expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Sri Lanka, 2001–2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2018, international expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Sri Lanka stood at 0.1%.
That represents a change of down 5.8% on the previous year and down 20.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Sri Lanka peaked at 0.2% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 2001.
Sri Lanka ranks 88th of 178 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
International expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 0.0% | — |
| 2009 | 0.1% | — |
| 2010 | 0.1% | -0.2% |
| 2011 | 0.1% | -19.7% |
| 2012 | 0.1% | -3.1% |
| 2013 | 0.2% | +52.1% |
| 2014 | 0.2% | +22.3% |
| 2015 | 0.1% | -23.3% |
| 2016 | 0.1% | -13.1% |
| 2017 | 0.1% | -12.5% |
| 2018 | 0.1% | -5.8% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 0.1% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.1%, 1.5× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 0.1% is below the median for South Asia, which is 0.1%, 98% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 2 |
| 2010s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 9 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More education data for Sri Lanka
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 155,543 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 224,799 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 214,300 (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.54 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.58 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -2.89 % change on previous year (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0715 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Sri Lanka?
- International expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Sri Lanka was 0.1% in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest international expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 0.2% in 2014.
- What is the lowest international expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 2001.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for international expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp?
- Sri Lanka ranks 88th out of 178 countries with data for 2018.
- Is international expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of International expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release