India has received accolades from UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation, for allocating up to 4.6% of its GDP to education. According to the recent report of the UNESCO’s institute for statistics, India has consistently allocated 4.1-4.6% of its GDP on education between 2015-2024. With this, India aligns itself with the international benchmarks established by the “Education 2030 Framework for Action.” This benchmark recommends that countries devote 4-6% of their GDP to education.
The report also states that India’s spending on education during the same time period has varied between 13.5% to 17.2%. It calls for nations to devote 15–25% of their public spending to education.
Overall, the report represents a detailed analysis of the global education investment trends. The report is of significance especially in context of achieving the SDG’s.
India’s Investment In Education…
As per the report, India has been investing more in education than some of its neighbours in terms of both government spending and GDP percentage. Furthermore, its investments have stayed steady and in line with international standards.
Compared to other Central and Southern Asian nations, India has invested more in education. Both in terms of government spending as well as GDP percentage. This is in contrast to the global trend of declining average investment.
According to the report, countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan fall far behind in terms of both spending and resource allocation. While South Asian countries like Nepal and Bhutan devote approximately 4-6 percent of their GDP to education.
Only Bhutan (7.5%), Kazakhstan (7.2%), the Maldives (4.7%), Tajikistan (5.7%), and Uzbekistan (5.2%) surpassed India’s education spending as a percentage of GDP in 2022. Interestingly, India spends more than countries like China and Japan do when compared to the entire Asian continent.
Globally, the world average of public spending on education has decreased, with a significant drop occurring after the Covid-19 pandemic. This decline ranging from 13.2 per cent in 2010 to 12.5 per cent in 2020.