Between 2015 and 2024, India allocated approximately 4.1 per cent to 4.6 per cent of its GDP to education, aligning with international benchmarks set by the ‘Education 2030 Framework for Action’. This framework recommends that countries allocate 4-6 per cent of their GDP to education.
Government Expenditure Trends
A new series of reports from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics on world education statistics revealed that India’s government expenditure on education has fluctuated between 13.5 per cent and 17.2 per cent during the same period. This range aligns with the Education 2030 target, which encourages governments to allocate 15-20 per cent of their public expenditure to education.
These reports provide a detailed analysis of global education investment trends, particularly in relation to achieving sustainable development goals (SDG), especially SDG 4, which focuses on ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education.
Regional Comparisons
India’s investment in education has remained stable and consistent with international benchmarks, investing more than some of its neighbors in terms of both GDP percentage and government expenditure. In comparison with other Central and Southern Asian countries, India has invested more, contrasting with the global trend of declining average investment in education.
The report notes that while South Asian countries, including Nepal and Bhutan, allocate around 4-6 per cent of their GDP to education, nations like Afghanistan and Pakistan are falling behind in terms of both expenditure and resource allocation.
Global Trends
The report highlighted that “as a percentage of total expenditure, the world average is in decline.” Central and Southern Asia countries are investing more compared to investment levels in the 2010s, whereas a decline is noted in other regions. In 2022, India’s expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP among Central and Southern Asia was lower only to Bhutan (7.5 per cent), Kazakhstan (7.2 per cent), Maldives (4.7 per cent), Tajikistan (5.7 per cent), and Uzbekistan (5.2 per cent).
Compared to the whole of Asia, India’s expenditure is higher than countries like China and Japan. Globally, the world average of public expenditure on education has seen a decline, from 13.2 per cent in 2010 to 12.5 per cent in 2020, with a notable decrease following the Covid-19 pandemic.
