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Saudi Arabia — Education spending
Government Education Spending (% of GDP) for Saudi Arabia, 1981–2023.
Latest value · 2023
4.48%
Government Education Spending (% of GDP) · % of GDP · +15.2% since 1981
Education spending for Saudi Arabia was 4.48% in 2023, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 23 years, from 1981 to 2023. The highest recorded value was 8.28% in 1998. The lowest was 3.89% in 1981 (about 1.2× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 0.34% per year.
Saudi Arabia ranks 74 of 172 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 43%. The median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan is 4.38%, so Saudi Arabia sits above it. It peaked in 1998 and has fallen 46% since.
Key figures
Latest (2023)
4.48%
First (1981)
3.89%
Change
+15.2%
Highest
8.28%
in 1998
Lowest
3.89%
in 1981
Average
5.90%
Annual growth (CAGR)
0.34%
Years of data
23
Recent years
| Year | % of GDP |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 4.48% |
| 2008 | 5.14% |
| 2006 | 5.89% |
| 2005 | 5.43% |
| 2004 | 6.28% |
| 2003 | 7.11% |
| 2002 | 7.64% |
| 2001 | 7.72% |
| 2000 | 5.91% |
| 1999 | 7.07% |
| 1998 | 8.28% |
| 1997 | 4.38% |
Reading this correctly. Total general government expenditure on education, expressed as a percentage of GDP. Includes both current and capital spending. Figures are in % of GDP. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS — Government Education Spending (% of GDP). Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.