EDUCATION
Namibia spends the most on education, relative to its economy
Namibia puts 9.1% of its GDP into education, the highest share in the world. Here's what that share does — and doesn't — tell us.
The short answer
Namibia spends the largest share of its economy on education among economies with more than one million people: 9.1% of GDP. Algeria (9.0%) and Cuba (8.4%) follow. The world average is 3.6%.
The full top 10
| Rank | Country / economy | Education spending (% of GDP) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Namibia | 9.1% |
| 2 | Algeria | 9.0% |
| 3 | Cuba | 8.4% |
| 4 | Botswana | 8.1% |
| 5 | Mauritania | 7.6% |
| 6 | Bolivia | 7.5% |
| 7 | Sweden | 7.3% |
| 8 | Kyrgyzstan | 6.8% |
| 9 | Tunisia | 6.7% |
| 10 | Lesotho | 6.6% |
What the number means
This measures government education spending as a percentage of GDP — the size of the investment relative to the size of the economy, not the amount spent per student.
The catch
A country with a small GDP can rank high here while still spending far fewer actual dollars per pupil than a wealthier country with a lower share. Namibia's 9.1% of a smaller economy can be a fraction of what a rich country spends at 4–5% of a much larger one.
Where spending is lowest
Somalia (0.0%), Nigeria (0.3%) and Zimbabwe (0.4%) report the lowest shares among economies with available data.
How we made this
Data: World Bank, World Development Indicators (indicator SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS), latest available year per economy (2020–2024). We compare economies with at least one million people.
Frequently asked questions
Where does South Korea rank?
South Korea ranks 30th, at 5.4% of GDP.
Does higher spending mean better schools?
Not automatically — outcomes also depend on how money is spent, teacher quality, class sizes, and what's already in place. Spending is an input, not a result.