UK aid for education
Global goals to increase access to education remain unachieved. UK bilateral aid for education fell from 2019 to 2023. Global and UK aid is expected to fall.
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education” and support lifelong learning, is intended to be met by 2030. However, the UN’s 2025 report on progress warned that global progress is falling short of targets on school completion rates and literacy.
This briefing provides an overview of progress on SDG 4, UK aid for education, and evaluations of its effectiveness.
Recent trends in UK and global aid spendingSupporting quality education and equal participation of girls has long been a priority for UK Governments, with the previous Conservative Government endorsing the G7 goal for 40 million more girls in school and 20 million more girls reading by 10 years old (or by the end of primary education) by 2026.
However, UK bilateral aid—that for specific programmes and purposes—for education fell every year from 2020 to 2022, falling from £780 million in 2019 to £352 million in 2022. It since rose to £700 million in 2024. The UK also provides contributions to the core budgets of multilateral institutions: in 2024, £335 million in bilateral aid was delivered via the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), £34 million via the International Finance Facility for Education, and £2 million via the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO.
According to Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) data on aid for education, which is not directly comparable with the above figures, the UK was the fourth-largest education aid donor in 2024, behind Germany, France and the US. However, UK aid has fallen more sharply than other donors in recent years, halving from 2018 to 2023 before its partial recovery in 2024.
Spending outlook from 2025Analysis by the UN Children’s Fund, Unicef, and UNESCO, has warned of stagnating levels of global aid for education in recent years. They project further falls to 2027 as the major education aid (France, Germany, the UK and US), cut their aid budgets.
The UK Government is reducing its aid spending to 0.3% of gross national income by 2027 and says education will be one of the negatively affected areas. As set out in the government’s 2026 international education strategy, UK aid emphasis will instead shift towards providing expertise and helping to mobilise non-aid finance. The government’s impact assessment of the changes for 2025/26 said several education projects would be negatively affected. Spending plans for 2026/27 are expected to be published soon.
Education fund replenishments in 2026Two education funds plan replenishment requests in 2026, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and Education Cannot Wait (ECW).
The GPE is seeking up to US$5 billion from donors for 2026 to 2030 to support children in 96 countries and territories. In its last replenishment, the UK pledged £430 million ($600 million) and is currently the GPE’s largest donor.
ECW, which provides education support in emergency and crisis situations, has not released its replenishment request for 2026. As of 2026, the UK is the second-largest donor to the ECW and pledged £80 million for 2022 to 2026. Under the Trump administration, the US plans to withdraw from the ECW, having been its third-largest donor. The US administration has not set out the reasons for its decision.