Countries with the lowest per child spending on education

The following table lists the 42 countries with the lowest educational spending per child, and for each country gives figures for

• per capita Gross National Product (GNP) in US dollars
• educational spending per child in US dollars, and
• literacy rates as a percentage of the population.

The relationship between spending per child and national literacy rates can be subtly misleading.

The spending per child is based on children actually in school. If a country has a low percentage of school-aged children in school, even large amounts of spending per child will not substantially or quickly affect the rate of literacy. Conversely, if virtually all children are in school, spending per child may be very modest but the literacy rates may be very high. These impressive results reflect both economies of scale as well as the widespread benefits of schooling.

The countries are listed by spending per child in ascending order.

• Fact module: Countries with the lowest per child spending on ed...
• In overview module: General literacy statistics, by Stephen L. Walter
• In overview module: The big picture in literacy, by Stephen L. Walter
• In modular book: Prepare for a literacy program, by Stephen L. Walter, Mary Morgan, and Leah B. Walter
• In bookshelf: Literacy

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 4.0, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 1 October 1999

© 1999 SIL International