Financing education in Africa

This research paper by the Institute for Security Studies examines the landscape of education financing in Africa, detailing expenditure levels, the distribution of funds across educational levels, and the challenges of spending inefficiency and declining donor support.

• African countries generally exceed the African Unions Dakar Framework for Action target of allocating 20% of national budgets to education, with an average spend of almost 25%.
• In 2019, total education expenditure in Africa was US$131.7 billion, or 4.6% of GDP, with projections suggesting this will reach 5% of GDP by 2043. Regional spending varies significantly, with Southern Africa at 5.6% of GDP and Central Africa at 3.1% of GDP. At the country level, spending ranges from 10.5% of GDP in Botswana to 1.8% of GDP in South Sudan.
• Education spending is heavily weighted toward primary education (44% of total expenditure), though tertiary education is significantly more expensive per student. In 2019, the average spend on a tertiary student was US$1,775, which is 6.5 times the cost of educating a primary student.
• Despite high spending, Africa's education expenditure is the least efficient globally, trailing Latin America by 20 percentage points. This inefficiency is often due to budgets being dominated by recurrent expenditures like salaries, leaving little for capital expenditures or learning materials.
• Funding needs are increasing due to the rise of free secondary education in countries such as Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, while international donor support is declining, including a US$2 billion decrease in aid for education in 2022.

APA

Aikins, E. R., & Cilliers, J. (2026). Financing education in Africa. Institute for Security Studies. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=06-education&topic=03-financing

Chicago

Aikins, Enoch Randy, and Jakkie Cilliers. Financing education in Africa. Institute for Security Studies, 2026. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=06-education&topic=03-financing.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Aikins |first1=Enoch Randy |last2=Cilliers |first2=Jakkie |title=Financing education in Africa |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=21 April 2026 |url=https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=06-education&topic=03-financing |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{aikins2026financing, author = {Aikins, Enoch Randy and Cilliers, Jakkie}, title = {{Financing education in Africa}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=06-education&topic=03-financing}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }