In a concerted effort to boost education in the country, India consistently allocated between 4.1% and 4.6% of its GDP to education from 2015 to 2024, adhering to the international guidelines set by the 'Education 2030 Framework for Action.' This framework recommends that nations invest between 4% and 6% of their GDP in education.
Recent reports from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics on global education funding indicate that India's government spending on education ranged from 13.5% to 17.2% of its total public expenditure during the same timeframe. This aligns with the Education 2030 target, which urges governments to devote 15% to 20% of their public budgets to education.
The reports analyse global investment trends in education, emphasising efforts to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4, which aims to provide inclusive and equitable quality education.
India's stable investment in education is notable, especially compared to some neighbouring countries, with India outpacing others in both GDP percentage and overall government spending on education. In contrast to a worldwide decline in educational investment, India has maintained a consistent commitment.
The report underscores that the global average of education expenditure as a share of total spending is on the decline, with Central and Southern Asian countries showing increased investment since the 2010s.
In 2022, India's education expenditure as a percentage of GDP was only surpassed in the region by Bhutan (7.5%), Kazakhstan (7.2%), Maldives (4.7%), Tajikistan (5.7%), and Uzbekistan (5.2%). Compared to the entire Asian continent, India's spending exceeds that of nations such as China and Japan.
