To fulfill their commitment with the right to education, States must provide adequate and sustainable public funding for public education. This fundamental responsibility is enshrined in numerous human rights instruments and emphasized by the 2030 and TES Education Agenda, which calls on all governments to allocate the maximum available resources to education. Are the States on track to achieve their commitments? How are we evolving on this topic and what should be done? 

Launched in early 2021 by the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), the Education Financing Observatory (EFO) is an initiative designed to provide a platform for generating and using evidence to guide education financing advocacy and policy. The primary goal of the EFO is to strengthen public education systems and support the implementation of the Education 2030 Agenda (SDG4) by monitoring and analyzing education financing trends worldwide. The platform plays a vital role in informing GCE’s advocacy efforts by providing timely data and insights that help shape policy decisions and drive meaningful change in education financing.

At its core, the EFO operates through three interrelated processes: (i) Data monitoring and tracking, (ii) Analysis of data and information, and (iii) Advocacy and reporting. These processes work together to enhance GCE’s advocacy, policy, and campaign strategies.

Data Monitoring and tracking

The first component, data monitoring, involves tracking a set of key indicators in a consistent and comparative manner across countries, with data available since 2000. Drawing on the methodology developed by our regional member, the Latin American Campaign for the Right to Education (CLADE), this approach allows for a systematic analysis of trends across the following dimensions:

• Government financial effort: Percentage of GDP and national budget allocated to education
• Resource availability: Share of the national education budget relative to the school-age population
• Equity in school access: indicator comparing the wealthiest and poorest quintiles and gender parity index

These indicators are primarily sourced from international databases, such as UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics (UIS) and the World Bank, which allows for feasible annual tracking and analysis across a growing number of countries — explore more on our methodology here.

Delays in data reporting remain a significant challenge. This gap limits the ability to fully assess current financing efforts and respond promptly to emerging needs — a problem that underscores the importance of stronger national data systems and transparency in education budgeting.

Data analysis

On the other hand, the EFO highlights in-depth analyses developed by GCE members, which unpack national contexts and provide concrete policy recommendations. Together, these two dimensions combine broad, comparable evidence with locally grounded insights.

The initiative fosters a collective understanding of how these indicators have evolved since 2000, offering important insights as we approach 2030. In-depth analysis is available for some countries, featuring critical perspectives and recommendations from the movement at global, regional, and national levels, providing a deeper context for the data.

Policy recommendations for greater investment in public education

Through its monitoring and analysis, the Education Financing Observatory aims to equip GCE and its partners with the data and insights necessary to advocate for stronger, more equitable education financing systems worldwide. By offering both in-depth national reports and broader regional trends, the EFO will continue to drive evidence-based advocacy at global, regional, and national levels, ensuring that public education remains a priority and is appropriately financed.