Countries With the Fastest Decline in Education expenditure share of GDP (5-Year Change)

Name: Countries With the Fastest Decline in Education expenditure share of GDP (5-Year Change)
Creator: The World Bank
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Change in Education expenditure share of GDP over the five years to each country's latest year, in points (a share or rate is not shown as a % of itself). Only countries that fell are listed. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).

Summary

Norway fell the most: by 2.41 pts, from 7.85% of GDP to 5.43% of GDP in the five years to 2022. Ethiopia is second (−2.18 pts), followed by Suriname (−2.06 pts). 86 countries fell over that period; the median change among them was −0.526 pts.

#1: Norway · −2.41 pts
Median: −0.526 pts
Coverage: 86 countries
Data year: 2023
Last updated: 2026-11-14

Top 10: 5-year change (points). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. Norway -2.41; 2. Ethiopia -2.18; 3. Suriname -2.06; 4. Aruba -1.87; 5. Sierra Leone -1.84; 6. Oman -1.61; 7. Timor-Leste -1.61; 8. Nicaragua -1.6; 9. Honduras -1.51; 10. Costa Rica -1.46.

Full ranking

Countries With the Fastest Decline in Education expenditure share of GDP (5-Year Change), 2023
Rank	Country	From	To	5-year change (points)
1	Norway	7.85	5.43	−2.41 pts
2	Ethiopia	4.48	2.3	−2.18 pts
3	Suriname	4.92	2.87	−2.06 pts
4	Aruba	5.49	3.62	−1.87 pts
5	Sierra Leone	4.47	2.62	−1.84 pts
6	Oman	6	4.38	−1.61 pts
7	Timor-Leste	6.85	5.24	−1.61 pts
8	Nicaragua	4.47	2.87	−1.6 pts
9	Honduras	6.06	4.55	−1.51 pts
10	Costa Rica	6.77	5.31	−1.46 pts
11	Kenya	5.37	4.02	−1.35 pts
12	Andorra	3.25	1.9	−1.35 pts
13	Belize	5.96	4.62	−1.34 pts
14	Lebanon	2.52	1.22	−1.29 pts
15	Türkiye	4.32	3.1	−1.23 pts
16	Lao PDR	2.34	1.23	−1.1 pts
17	Papua New Guinea	1.87	0.782	−1.09 pts
18	Denmark	7.37	6.36	−1.01 pts
19	Panama	3.45	2.47	−0.98 pts
20	Malaysia	4.48	3.51	−0.964 pts
21	Cyprus	5.7	4.74	−0.958 pts
22	Djibouti	4.65	3.75	−0.896 pts
23	Micronesia, Fed. Sts.	12.4	11.6	−0.849 pts
24	Hungary	4.64	3.8	−0.839 pts
25	Burundi	5.32	4.5	−0.818 pts
26	Iran, Islamic Rep.	3.62	2.82	−0.795 pts
27	Gabon	3.07	2.32	−0.756 pts
28	Ireland	3.66	2.9	−0.754 pts
29	Brazil	6.32	5.62	−0.701 pts
30	Thailand	3.2	2.52	−0.677 pts
31	Haiti	1.64	0.965	−0.673 pts
32	Zambia	4.74	4.07	−0.666 pts
33	Guinea	2.38	1.72	−0.66 pts
34	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3.89	3.25	−0.647 pts
35	Bhutan	6.48	5.85	−0.633 pts
36	Ghana	3.53	2.91	−0.624 pts
37	São Tomé and Principe	5.62	5.03	−0.596 pts
38	Cayman Islands	2.16	1.57	−0.594 pts
39	Ecuador	4.25	3.69	−0.555 pts
40	Bolivia	8.09	7.54	−0.551 pts
41	Fiji	4.8	4.25	−0.55 pts
42	Singapore	2.73	2.19	−0.537 pts
43	Viet Nam	3.42	2.89	−0.531 pts
44	Chile	5.43	4.91	−0.521 pts
45	Russian Federation	4.68	4.16	−0.514 pts
46	Bahrain	2.39	1.89	−0.501 pts
47	Portugal	5.03	4.55	−0.475 pts
48	San Marino	3.37	2.9	−0.473 pts
49	Tanzania	3.6	3.16	−0.442 pts
50	Cabo Verde	4.79	4.35	−0.44 pts
51	Pakistan	2.33	1.95	−0.386 pts
52	Curaçao	5.81	5.44	−0.369 pts
53	Mexico	4.4	4.06	−0.338 pts
54	Botswana	8.39	8.06	−0.336 pts
55	Sweden	7.64	7.32	−0.319 pts
56	Mauritius	4.54	4.25	−0.295 pts
57	Kuwait	6.73	6.44	−0.292 pts
58	Iceland	7.58	7.31	−0.276 pts
59	Namibia	9.32	9.08	−0.238 pts
60	Trinidad and Tobago	3.47	3.23	−0.238 pts
61	Liberia	2.5	2.27	−0.237 pts
62	Poland	4.54	4.31	−0.229 pts
63	Latvia	4.53	4.32	−0.209 pts
64	India	4.31	4.1	−0.207 pts
65	Nepal	3.89	3.69	−0.204 pts
66	Cameroon	3.03	2.84	−0.192 pts
67	Belgium	6.45	6.28	−0.173 pts
68	Dominican Republic	3.93	3.76	−0.168 pts
69	Barbados	3.72	3.56	−0.166 pts
70	Burkina Faso	5.49	5.33	−0.161 pts
71	Sri Lanka	1.99	1.83	−0.16 pts
72	Switzerland	5.02	4.86	−0.153 pts
73	France	5.46	5.32	−0.141 pts
74	Austria	5.4	5.28	−0.124 pts
75	Guatemala	3.19	3.08	−0.117 pts
76	Canada	4.96	4.84	−0.116 pts
77	Nigeria	0.42	0.319	−0.101 pts
78	Greece	3.47	3.38	−0.092 pts
79	Israel	6	5.93	−0.071 pts
80	Bermuda	1.94	1.87	−0.071 pts
81	El Salvador	3.39	3.32	−0.07 pts
82	Serbia	3.44	3.4	−0.033 pts
83	Finland	6.41	6.38	−0.032 pts
84	Malawi	2.77	2.75	−0.02 pts
85	Hong Kong SAR, China	3.81	3.81	−0.0047 pts
86	Cuba	8.44	8.44	−0.0032 pts

About the top 10

#1 Norway

Norway ranks #1 on this list with −2.41 pts.

Capital: Oslo
Continent: Europe
Income group: High income
Population: 5.61 million people (2025)
GDP: US$530.76 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$94,594 (2025)
Life expectancy: 83.2 years (2024)
Urban population: 83.6% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim.

Also ranks #2 in nurses and midwives per 1,000 · #2 in voice and accountability score · #3 in gni per capita.

Full country profile

#2 Ethiopia

Ethiopia ranks #2 on this list with −2.18 pts.

Capital: Addis Ababa
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 135.47 million people (2025)
GDP: US$126.36 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$932.7 (2025)
Life expectancy: 67.6 years (2024)
Urban population: 24.1% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Addis Ababa.

Also ranks #3 in children out of school (primary) · #6 in rural population · #6 in gdp growth rate.

Full country profile

#3 Suriname

Suriname ranks #3 on this list with −2.06 pts.

Capital: Paramaribo
Continent: South America
Income group: Upper middle income
Population: 639,850 people (2025)
GDP: US$4.52 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$7,070 (2025)
Life expectancy: 73.8 years (2024)
Urban population: 65.8% of population (2025)

Also ranks #2 in forest area share · #3 in irrigated land share · #3 in water resources per capita.

Full country profile

#4 Aruba

Aruba ranks #4 on this list with −1.87 pts.

Capital: Oranjestad
Continent: North America
Income group: High income
Population: 108,790 people (2025)
GDP: US$4.17 billion (2024)
GDP per person: US$38,591 (2024)
Life expectancy: 76.5 years (2024)
Urban population: 61.7% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in electricity access rate · #1 in access to electricity (rural) · #5 in political stability score.

Full country profile

#5 Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone ranks #5 on this list with −1.84 pts.

Capital: Freetown
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 8.82 million people (2025)
GDP: US$7.46 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$846.3 (2025)
Life expectancy: 62 years (2024)
Urban population: 45.9% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in school enrolment (primary) · #7 in under-5 mortality rate · #8 in forest rents share of gdp.

Full country profile

#6 Oman

Oman ranks #6 on this list with −1.61 pts.

Capital: Muscat
Continent: Asia
Income group: High income
Population: 5.49 million people (2025)
GDP: US$109.6 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$19,947 (2025)
Life expectancy: 80.2 years (2024)
Urban population: 79.5% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Muscat.

Also ranks #1 in cereal yield · #1 in crop production index · #3 in population growth rate.

Full country profile

#7 Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste ranks #7 on this list with −1.61 pts.

Capital: Dili
Continent: Asia
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 1.42 million people (2025)
GDP: US$1.9 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$1,341 (2025)
Life expectancy: 67.9 years (2024)
Urban population: 28.8% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in smoking prevalence · #3 in government revenue share of gdp · #4 in prevalence of stunting (under-5).

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#8 Nicaragua

Nicaragua ranks #8 on this list with −1.6 pts.

Capital: Managua
Continent: North America
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 7.01 million people (2025)
GDP: US$22.24 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$3,173 (2025)
Life expectancy: 75.1 years (2024)
Urban population: 59.4% of population (2025)

Also ranks #3 in women in parliament share · #3 in women in ministerial positions share · #28 in homicide rate.

Full country profile

#9 Honduras

Honduras ranks #9 on this list with −1.51 pts.

Capital: Tegucigalpa
Continent: North America
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 11.01 million people (2025)
GDP: US$39.6 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$3,598 (2025)
Life expectancy: 73 years (2024)
Urban population: 59.3% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Tegucigalpa.

Also ranks #6 in deposit interest rate · #10 in gini index · #11 in homicide rate.

Full country profile

#10 Costa Rica

Costa Rica ranks #10 on this list with −1.46 pts.

Capital: San José
Continent: North America
Income group: High income
Population: 5.15 million people (2025)
GDP: US$102.9 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$19,970 (2025)
Life expectancy: 81 years (2024)
Urban population: 79.7% of population (2025)

Also ranks #3 in immunisation (dpt) rate · #4 in fertiliser consumption · #8 in women in parliament share.

Full country profile

Profile facts: World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0); weather links go to Purr Weather, another ChowChow Labs site.

Source and method

Change in Education expenditure share of GDP over the five years to each country's latest year, in points (a share or rate is not shown as a % of itself). Only countries that fell are listed.

Source: The World Bank, indicator SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Retrieved: 2026-11-14.

The World Bank: Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP): Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (via World Development Indicators)

Original data provider, as recorded by the World Bank: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Values are shown as published (changes are computed from the published values). Provider terms: The World Bank. All licences: Sources & licences.

Summary

Full ranking

About the top 10

#1 Norway

#2 Ethiopia

#3 Suriname

#4 Aruba

#5 Sierra Leone

#6 Oman

#7 Timor-Leste

#8 Nicaragua

#9 Honduras

#10 Costa Rica

Related rankings

Source and method