India's education budget falls short of UNESCO's 15% public spending target

According to UNESCO's 2026 Sustainable Development Goal 4 scorecard, India dedicates 4.1% of its gross domestic product to education, but this accounts for only 14.2% of overall public spending, a decline from 15.7% recorded in 2015. This proportion falls below UNESCO's prescribed threshold of at least 15% of total public expenditure for education. The report highlights a general pattern of countries drifting away from the recommended benchmarks of 4% of GDP or 15% of public budgets.

The findings suggest that India's education financing is slipping relative to international standards. The scorecard serves as a metric for tracking progress toward global education goals.