Pakistan spent only 0.8% of its GDP on education during FY2025, according to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2025-26 released on Thursday, 11 June 2026.
The survey showed that federal and provincial governments spent Rs. 962.0 billion on education during the year. However, the total spending remained below 1% of GDP, highlighting the continued funding gap in the education sector.
This comes at a critical time for Pakistan. The federal government will present the Budget 2026-27 tomorrow, and education financing is expected to remain an important policy issue.
Low education spending affects schools, colleges, universities, teacher training, digital learning, and access to basic facilities. It also slows progress in improving literacy and reducing the number of out-of-school children.
Meanwhile, the government allocated Rs. 34.905 billion to the Higher Education Commission for 147 development projects during FY2025. These included 129 ongoing projects, 12 new projects, and 6 previous PSDP projects of public sector universities and HEC.
However, the overall spending level shows that Pakistan still needs stronger investment in education to improve learning outcomes and human capital.
