Key facts
- UNESCO is urging governments and international lenders to expand debt-for-education swaps.
- 113 countries spend more on debt servicing than on education, according to UNESCO.
- Debt-for-education swaps allow countries to refinance debt and channel savings into education.
- The World Bank has begun supporting these arrangements.
- Global aid to education is projected to decrease by up to 30% between 2023 and 2027.
UNESCO has called for an expansion of debt-for-education swaps as a mechanism to address a critical and worsening global education financing crisis. The U.N. agency released new guidance on these swaps at a summit in Paris, highlighting that 113 countries, collectively home to 6.1 billion people, now allocate more funds to servicing their debt than to educating their populations.
In low-income nations, debt payments are nearly four times higher than education spending, and in 18 of the most heavily indebted countries, this disparity exceeds fivefold. UNESCO also warned of a shrinking international commitment to education, projecting a potential 30% decrease in global aid between 2023 and 2027. Aid to education already fell 8% in 2024, with basic education funding dropping by 15%. Low- and lower-middle-income countries have seen a 21% reduction in education aid since 2023, with some nations experiencing declines of over 40%.
Education's share of total development assistance has fallen to its lowest point in two decades, creating an estimated annual financing gap of $97 billion for low- and lower-middle-income countries. UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany emphasized that education is the most powerful investment countries can make but is systematically underfunded, urging for increased political backing for innovative financing tools. The findings were presented at the Transforming Education Summit+4, which aims to assess progress toward the U.N.'s 2030 goal for inclusive and equitable quality education.