A new World Bank report has revealed that Nigeria’s public expenditure on education and health is significantly below international standards.
The report, titled ‘Human Capital Public Expenditure and Institutional Review,’ highlighted that Nigeria’s public spending is only 12% of its GDP.
The report notes that Nigeria’s health and education expenditure has fluctuated between 10% and 12% of GDP over the past five years, which is significantly lower than the Sub-Saharan African average of 17.2% and the lower middle-income countries average of 18.5%. The World Bank emphasizes that this level of investment is insufficient for delivering adequate essential public services, leading to a large proportion of out-of-pocket spending on health, excluding a significant segment of society from accessing health services.
The report further reveals that Nigeria’s public expenditure on education and health is inadequate by any standard, with $23 per capita spent on education and $15 per capita on health. Of the $23 per capita spent on education, states contribute $14, while the Federal Government spends the remainder. Similarly, states spend $8.5 out of the $15 per capita spent on health. This level of spending compares poorly to Nigeria’s peers and is inadequate given the need to address significant issues such as high rates of out-of-school children and child mortality.
The World Bank attributes the low spending on health and education to the overall level of public spending, which is constrained by the very low overall revenue. In 2021, allocations to education and health were 10.1% and 6.6% of the overall budget (federal plus state), respectively. The two largest shares of the budget were spending for General Public Services (24.2%) and Economic Affairs (18.4%), with debt charges within General Public Services being the third largest expenditure item at 17.6% of the general government budget. Social sectors, including education, health, and social protection, received together less than one-quarter of the national budget in 2021.
The findings of the World Bank report underscore the urgent need for Nigeria to increase its investment in education and health to meet the needs of its growing population and achieve sustainable development goals. Addressing the inadequate funding in these critical sectors will require a comprehensive approach that includes revenue mobilization, efficient allocation of resources, and effective utilization of funds to ensure that every Nigerian has access to quality education and healthcare services.