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South Africa — Education spending
Government Education Spending (% of GDP) for South Africa, 1987–2024.
Latest value · 2024
6.02%
Government Education Spending (% of GDP) · % of GDP · +26.7% since 1987
Education spending for South Africa was 6.02% in 2024, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 34 years, from 1987 to 2024. The highest recorded value was 6.56% in 2021. The lowest was 4.35% in 2003 (about 1.4× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 0.64% per year.
South Africa ranks 24 of 172 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 14%. The median for Sub-Saharan Africa is 3.61%, so South Africa sits above it. It peaked in 2021 and has fallen 8% since. Over the last decade (2014–2024) the figure moved up 10%.
Key figures
Latest (2024)
6.02%
First (1987)
4.75%
Change
+26.7%
Highest
6.56%
in 2021
Lowest
4.35%
in 2003
Average
5.19%
Annual growth (CAGR)
0.64%
Years of data
34
Recent years
| Year | % of GDP |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 6.02% |
| 2023 | 6.12% |
| 2022 | 6.16% |
| 2021 | 6.56% |
| 2020 | 6.17% |
| 2019 | 5.91% |
| 2018 | 5.64% |
| 2017 | 5.6% |
| 2016 | 5.44% |
| 2015 | 5.48% |
| 2014 | 5.49% |
| 2013 | 5.35% |
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.