Federal current expenditure on Education Affairs and Services — HEC, federal universities, and federal education institutions.
Source: Budget in Brief — Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan.
Education spending is an investment in people — it pays for teachers, schools, scholarships, and universities that shape how skilled Pakistan's future workforce will be. A country that under-invests in education usually struggles with productivity and growth for decades afterward.
There's an important catch with this page's numbers, though: since 2010, education has mostly been a provincial responsibility, not a federal one (this is called the 18th Amendment). The federal figures shown here only cover things like the Higher Education Commission and federal universities — a small slice of what Pakistan actually spends on education nationwide. The much bigger share is spent by Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan through their own provincial budgets, not included in this federal Budget Workshop.
Even within this federal slice, comparing education spending against debt servicing or defence shows how much competition there is for limited government money every year.
Education was devolved to the provinces under the 18th Amendment (2010); the bulk of Pakistan's actual education spending happens in provincial budgets, not here.
Is this Pakistan's total education budget?
No. This is the federal government's current expenditure on education only — mainly the Higher Education Commission and federal institutions. Education is a provincial subject since the 18th Amendment, and provincial education budgets (Punjab, Sindh, KP, Balochistan) are several times larger than this federal figure, but are tracked in separate provincial budget documents not covered by this dataset.
Does this include PSDP development spending on education?
No — this is current expenditure only, from Budget in Brief's Function-Wise Expenditure table. Education-tagged PSDP development projects are booked under PSDP, a different classification, and are not added in here to avoid double-counting across two different expenditure classifications.
Why was education handed to the provinces?
The 18th Constitutional Amendment in 2010 was a broader move to decentralize government functions in Pakistan, on the idea that provinces are closer to local needs and can manage schools and curricula more effectively than a distant federal government.
What does the federal government still fund in education?
Mainly higher education through the Higher Education Commission (HEC), federal universities, and a small number of federal schools and colleges, often serving specific groups like the children of federal government employees.
How does Pakistan's education spending compare internationally?
Pakistan has historically spent a smaller share of its GDP on education than many comparable countries, a gap frequently cited as a long-term constraint on growth and human development.
Where can I find provincial education budget figures?
Each province publishes its own Budget in Brief or White Paper through its provincial Finance Department — Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan each maintain separate, publicly available budget documents.
Why does low education spending matter for the economy?
A less-educated workforce tends to be less productive and earns lower wages over time, which can slow overall economic growth and reduce the kinds of higher-value jobs the economy can support.
Has federal education spending grown over time?
Use the Historical Budget Explorer on the Budget Workshop to check — select Federal Education and view its trend in nominal Rupees or as a share of GDP across all 17 fiscal years in this dataset.
Every figure on this page is the Budget Estimate (BE) for that fiscal year, transcribed from that year’s own official Budget in Brief (Finance Division, Government of Pakistan). Most recent year:
Budget in Brief, FY2026-27 (Table 1: Budget at a Glance, Table 2/3: Fiscal Deficit & Financing / BE & RE Comparison, Table 11: Function-Wise Expenditure)Related Budget Categories
Related Provincial Pages