India's Education Spending Dips Below UNESCO's 15% Public Expenditure Mark

NEW DELHI: According to the UNESCO 2026 SDG 4 scorecard, India's public expenditure on education as a share of total government spending has fallen to 14.2%, below the internationally recommended minimum of 15%. However, the country continues to spend 4.1% of its GDP on education, thereby meeting the GDP benchmark.

The scorecard, which monitors progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 4 (quality education), notes that India's education spending as a share of public expenditure has declined from 15.7% in 2015 to 14.2%. Under the Education 2030 framework, countries committed to spending 4-6% of GDP and/or 15-20% of public expenditure on education. India meets one of the two minimum benchmarks.

This trend is not unique to India. Among major emerging economies, Brazil spends 5.6% of GDP and 12.9% of public expenditure, while China spends 4% of GDP and 11.9% of public expenditure. South Africa meets both at 6% and 19.1%. Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan meet neither benchmark.

The report also highlights that many high-income countries, including the US, UK, Germany, and France, meet the GDP threshold but fall short on the public expenditure benchmark. Sweden and Switzerland meet both. UNESCO notes that richer countries tend to meet the GDP benchmark because they raise more revenue, while education often accounts for a larger share of budgets in poorer countries.

The funding shortfall is critical for India, which is lagging in secondary school completion. The latest lower secondary completion rate is 86%, against a national benchmark of 99% for 2025. The upper secondary completion rate is 51%, against a target of 84%. UNESCO classifies progress at both levels as slow.

Despite large-scale programs such as Samagra Shiksha, which supports about 15.6 crore learners, and PM-Poshan, covering around 11.8 crore children in 11.2 lakh government and aided schools, the desired outcomes remain elusive. The scorecard's global assessment concludes that countries are, on average, moving away from the education funding benchmarks of at least 4% of GDP or 15% of total public expenditure.