Understanding Politics

Education

Education under Bolsonaro

2019–2022

Public education spending was 6.1% of GDP in 2018 and 5.6% in 2022, with the 2020–2021 pandemic in between. The gross tertiary enrollment ratio went from 52.1% to 61.0%. The government created the civic-military schools program, a literacy policy, and Congress made Fundeb permanent and earmarked telecommunications resources for school connectivity, the latter against the Executive’s position.

This visualization is descriptive and does not show that a government caused the change. See the methodology.

What started

Cuts, withholdings and limits

Change in the series over the period

From the year before the start to the last year of the period, with an optional lag. Compare with Latin America and neighbors: if all moved together, the change is probably not a government's doing.

Absolute change in the series unit (p.p. = percentage points); relative change, in %, only where shown.

no lag

Indicator Window BrazilArgentinaChileColombiaMexicoLatin America & Caribbean
Government expenditure on education (% of GDP) % 2018–2022 −0.5 p.p.−0.1 p.p.−0.6 p.p.no data−0.1 p.p.−0.6 p.p.
Research and development expenditure (% of GDP) % 2018–2022 +0.0 p.p.+0.1 p.p.+0.0 p.p.no data−0.0 p.p.+0.0 p.p.
Federal spending paid on education (R$ billion, constant prices) R$ billion, at prices of the latest full year 2018–2022 −12.2 R$ bnno datano datano datano datano data
Federal spending paid on higher education (R$ billion, constant prices) R$ billion, at prices of the latest full year 2018–2022 −7.7 R$ bnno datano datano datano datano data
Gross tertiary enrollment (% of school-age population) % 2018–2022 +8.9 p.p.+16.0 p.p.+8.1 p.p.+2.0 p.p.+4.8 p.p.+5.8 p.p.
Gross secondary enrollment (% of school-age population) % 2018–2022 +0.9 p.p.+4.5 p.p.+2.9 p.p.+1.2 p.p.−7.6 p.p.−0.5 p.p.
Mean years of schooling (UNDP) years 2018–2022 +0.4 yrs+0.1 yrs+0.5 yrs+0.5 yrs+0.4 yrsno data

1-year lag

Indicator Window BrazilArgentinaChileColombiaMexicoLatin America & Caribbean
Government expenditure on education (% of GDP) % 2019–2023 no data+0.2 p.p.no datano datano data−0.7 p.p.
Research and development expenditure (% of GDP) % 2019–2023 +0.0 p.p.+0.1 p.p.no datano data−0.0 p.p.+0.1 p.p.
Federal spending paid on education (R$ billion, constant prices) R$ billion, at prices of the latest full year 2019–2023 +12.2 R$ bnno datano datano datano datano data
Federal spending paid on higher education (R$ billion, constant prices) R$ billion, at prices of the latest full year 2019–2023 −5.2 R$ bnno datano datano datano datano data
Gross tertiary enrollment (% of school-age population) % 2019–2023 no data+12.6 p.p.+12.7 p.p.no data+4.4 p.p.+7.3 p.p.
Gross secondary enrollment (% of school-age population) % 2019–2023 no data−4.9 p.p.+1.4 p.p.no data−3.5 p.p.−0.1 p.p.
Mean years of schooling (UNDP) years 2019–2023 +0.3 yrs+0.1 yrs+0.4 yrs+0.4 yrs+0.3 yrsno data

2-year lag

Indicator Window BrazilArgentinaChileColombiaMexicoLatin America & Caribbean
Government expenditure on education (% of GDP) % 2020–2024 no datano datano datano datano datano data
Research and development expenditure (% of GDP) % 2020–2024 no datano datano datano data−0.0 p.p.no data
Federal spending paid on education (R$ billion, constant prices) R$ billion, at prices of the latest full year 2020–2024 +25.7 R$ bnno datano datano datano datano data
Federal spending paid on higher education (R$ billion, constant prices) R$ billion, at prices of the latest full year 2020–2024 −2.5 R$ bnno datano datano datano datano data
Gross tertiary enrollment (% of school-age population) % 2020–2024 +14.2 p.p.no data+21.1 p.p.no data+3.0 p.p.+4.0 p.p.
Gross secondary enrollment (% of school-age population) % 2020–2024 +0.3 p.p.no data+1.9 p.p.no data+0.5 p.p.+0.9 p.p.
Mean years of schooling (UNDP) years 2020–2024 no datano datano datano datano datano data

Pace before and during the government

Yearly change in this window, against the same length immediately before. Talk of a change in pace only when the series moved differently before; even then it does not say why. If Latin America changed pace together, the cause is probably not the government.

Indicator Before During Latin America & Caribbean: before → during
Government expenditure on education (% of GDP) per year +0.04 p.p. (2014–2018) −0.12 p.p. (2018–2022) −0.06 p.p. → −0.15 p.p.
Research and development expenditure (% of GDP) per year −0.03 p.p. (2014–2018) +0.01 p.p. (2018–2022) −0.03 p.p. → +0.00 p.p.
Federal spending paid on education (R$ billion, constant prices) per year −1.91 R$ bn (2014–2018) −3.04 R$ bn (2018–2022) no data
Federal spending paid on higher education (R$ billion, constant prices) per year −1.28 R$ bn (2014–2018) −1.93 R$ bn (2018–2022) no data
Gross tertiary enrollment (% of school-age population) per year +1.06 p.p. (2014–2018) +2.24 p.p. (2018–2022) +1.33 p.p. → +1.45 p.p.
Gross secondary enrollment (% of school-age population) per year +0.51 p.p. (2014–2018) +0.22 p.p. (2018–2022) +0.67 p.p. → −0.12 p.p.
Mean years of schooling (UNDP) per year +0.15 yrs (2014–2018) +0.11 yrs (2018–2022) no data

Government expenditure on education (% of GDP)

%. Background bands: Brazil's presidents, not those of the chart's other geographies. Years with data: Brazil: 1995–2022 (25 years); Argentina: 1975–2023 (41 years); Chile: 1975–2022 (35 years); Colombia: 1979–2020 (29 years); Mexico: 1989–2022 (30 years).

Government expenditure on education (% of GDP)
Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators · Source version: 2026-10-08 · Collected on: 2026-11-01 · License: CC-BY-4.0
Download data (CSV) · View the code: collection code · chart.ts
View the data as a table
Year BrazilArgentinaChileColombiaMexico
1975 – 1.8 3.5 – –
1976 – 1.2 – – –
1977 – 1.7 – – –
1978 – 1.9 3.0 – –
1979 – 2.4 3.4 1.8 –
1980 – 2.6 4.1 1.7 –
1981 – – 4.8 2.6 –
1982 – 1.6 – – –
1983 – 1.6 – – –
1984 – 2.6 – 3.0 –
1985 – 1.4 – 2.7 –
1986 – 1.3 – – –
1987 – 1.3 2.8 – –
1989 – 1.0 – 2.7 2.3
1990 – 1.1 2.2 – 2.3
1991 – – – – 2.5
1992 – – – – 3.0
1993 – – 2.4 – –
1994 – – 2.5 – 3.5
1995 4.6 – 2.6 – 3.5
1996 – 3.7 2.8 – –
1997 – – 3.0 – –
1998 4.8 4.0 3.3 3.9 3.2
1999 3.8 4.5 3.7 4.4 3.4
2000 3.9 4.6 3.8 3.5 3.8
2001 3.8 4.8 – 3.7 4.0
2002 3.8 4.0 4.0 4.3 4.2
2003 – 3.5 3.9 4.3 4.8
2004 4.0 3.5 3.5 4.1 4.5
2005 4.5 3.9 3.3 4.0 4.6
2006 4.9 4.1 3.0 3.9 4.5
2007 5.0 4.5 3.2 4.1 4.5
2008 5.3 4.8 3.8 3.9 4.6
2009 5.5 5.5 4.3 4.8 4.9
2010 5.6 5.0 4.2 4.8 4.9
2011 5.7 5.3 4.1 4.5 4.9
2012 5.9 5.3 – 4.4 4.9
2013 5.8 5.4 4.5 4.9 4.5
2014 5.9 5.4 4.8 4.6 5.1
2015 6.2 5.8 4.9 4.5 5.1
2016 6.3 5.5 5.4 4.5 4.8
2017 6.3 5.5 5.4 4.5 4.4
2018 6.1 4.9 5.5 4.4 4.1
2019 6.0 4.8 5.6 4.5 –
2020 5.8 5.3 5.6 5.3 4.5
2021 5.5 4.7 5.0 – 4.2
2022 5.6 4.8 4.9 – 4.1
2023 – 5.0 – – –

† series break

Research and development expenditure (% of GDP)

%. Background bands: Brazil's presidents, not those of the chart's other geographies. Years with data: Brazil: 2000–2023; Argentina: 1996–2023; Chile: 2007–2022; Colombia: 2000–2020; Mexico: 1996–2024.

Research and development expenditure (% of GDP)
Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators · Source version: 2026-10-08 · Collected on: 2026-11-01 · License: CC-BY-4.0
Download data (CSV) · View the code: collection code · chart.ts
View the data as a table
Year BrazilArgentinaChileColombiaMexico
1996 – 0.4 – – 0.2
1997 – 0.4 – – 0.3
1998 – 0.4 – – 0.3
1999 – 0.5 – – 0.3
2000 1.0 0.4 – 0.1 0.3
2001 1.1 0.4 – 0.1 0.3
2002 1.0 0.4 – 0.2 0.3
2003 1.0 0.4 – 0.2 0.4
2004 1.0 0.4 – 0.2 0.4
2005 1.0 0.4 – 0.2 0.4
2006 1.0 0.5 – 0.2 0.4
2007 1.1 0.5 0.3 0.2 0.4
2008 1.1 0.5 0.4 0.2 0.4
2009 1.1 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.5
2010 1.2 0.6 0.3 0.2 0.5
2011 1.1 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.5
2012 1.1 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.4
2013 1.2 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.4
2014 1.3 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.4
2015 1.3 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.4
2016 1.2 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.4
2017 1.1 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.3
2018 1.2 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.3
2019 1.2 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.3
2020 1.2 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.3
2021 1.1 0.5 0.4 – 0.3
2022 1.2 0.5 0.4 – 0.3
2023 1.2 0.6 – – 0.3
2024 – – – – 0.3

† series break

Federal spending paid on education (R$ billion, constant prices)

R$ billion, at prices of the latest full year. Background bands: Brazil's presidents, not those of the chart's other geographies. Years with data: Brazil: 2014–2025. No data in this source: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico.

Federal spending paid on education (R$ billion, constant prices)
Source: National Treasury — Siconfi (DCA) and Central Bank (IPCA) · Source version: DCA 2014-2025; IPCA SGS 433 · Collected on: 2026-11-01 · License: ODbL-1.0
Download data (CSV) · View the code: collection code · chart.ts
View the data as a table
Year Brazil
2014 134.1
2015 132.6
2016 131.8
2017 133.0
2018 126.5
2019 118.0
2020 106.2
2021 107.6
2022 114.3
2023 130.2
2024 131.9
2025 148.5

† series break

Federal spending paid on higher education (R$ billion, constant prices)

R$ billion, at prices of the latest full year. Background bands: Brazil's presidents, not those of the chart's other geographies. Years with data: Brazil: 2014–2025. No data in this source: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico.

Federal spending paid on higher education (R$ billion, constant prices)
Source: National Treasury — Siconfi (DCA) and Central Bank (IPCA) · Source version: DCA 2014-2025; IPCA SGS 433 · Collected on: 2026-11-01 · License: ODbL-1.0
Download data (CSV) · View the code: collection code · chart.ts
View the data as a table
Year Brazil
2014 47.3
2015 49.8
2016 45.5
2017 45.8
2018 42.2
2019 41.9
2020 39.0
2021 35.6
2022 34.4
2023 36.6
2024 36.4
2025 40.5

† series break

Gross tertiary enrollment (% of school-age population)

%. Background bands: Brazil's presidents, not those of the chart's other geographies. Years with data: Brazil: 2012–2024 (12 years); Argentina: 1975–2023 (41 years); Chile: 2000–2024 (24 years); Colombia: 2000–2022 (22 years); Mexico: 2000–2024.

Gross tertiary enrollment (% of school-age population)
Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators · Source version: 2026-10-08 · Collected on: 2026-11-01 · License: CC-BY-4.0
Download data (CSV) · View the code: collection code · chart.ts
View the data as a table
Year BrazilArgentinaChileColombiaMexico
1975 – 26.9 – – –
1976 – 26.9 – – –
1977 – 24.0 – – –
1978 – 21.2 – – –
1979 – 22.0 – – –
1980 – 21.6 – – –
1981 – 23.0 – – –
1982 – 23.7 – – –
1983 – 24.8 – – –
1984 – 28.7 – – –
1985 – 35.7 – – –
1986 – 37.8 – – –
1987 – 39.8 – – –
1991 – 38.3 – – –
1994 – 37.4 – – –
1998 – 48.0 – – –
1999 – 49.5 – – –
2000 – 54.1 35.4 25.5 20.5
2001 – 58.5 – 26.4 21.4
2002 – 61.7 40.3 26.5 22.3
2003 – 64.0 43.5 – 23.0
2004 – 64.6 44.3 29.5 23.7
2005 – 63.5 50.3 32.3 24.1
2006 – 66.9 49.3 34.4 24.6
2007 – 66.7 54.7 35.5 25.1
2008 – 68.6 56.8 37.9 25.8
2009 – 70.7 60.0 39.5 26.2
2010 – 73.8 66.3 41.5 27.2
2011 – 77.0 70.8 45.3 28.0
2012 43.8 78.1 75.1 47.5 29.3
2013 45.0 78.6 79.9 50.7 30.3
2014 47.8 81.1 83.7 53.2 31.2
2015 49.1 83.8 86.4 54.8 32.0
2016 49.0 86.7 88.8 57.1 38.6
2017 50.7 89.3 89.9 58.4 40.3
2018 52.1 91.1 91.2 57.3 41.6
2019 53.6 95.2 92.1 56.7 43.0
2020 55.5 99.4 89.1 55.7 45.2
2021 57.6 107.2 96.2 58.3 45.7
2022 61.0 107.1 99.3 59.3 46.4
2023 – 107.8 104.7 – 47.5
2024 69.7 – 110.2 – 48.2

† series break

Gross secondary enrollment (% of school-age population)

%. Background bands: Brazil's presidents, not those of the chart's other geographies. Years with data: Brazil: 2012–2024 (12 years); Argentina: 1975–2023 (45 years); Chile: 2000–2024 (24 years); Colombia: 2000–2022 (21 years); Mexico: 2000–2024.

Gross secondary enrollment (% of school-age population)
Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators · Source version: 2026-10-08 · Collected on: 2026-11-01 · License: CC-BY-4.0
Download data (CSV) · View the code: collection code · chart.ts
View the data as a table
Year BrazilArgentinaChileColombiaMexico
1975 – 54.1 – – –
1976 – 55.4 – – –
1977 – 55.1 – – –
1978 – 55.0 – – –
1979 – 55.1 – – –
1980 – 56.2 – – –
1981 – 57.6 – – –
1982 – 59.6 – – –
1983 – 60.4 – – –
1984 – 66.0 – – –
1985 – 70.6 – – –
1986 – 70.5 – – –
1987 – 70.3 – – –
1988 – 70.9 – – –
1990 – 73.0 – – –
1991 – 74.1 – – –
1994 – 70.9 – – –
1996 – 78.5 – – –
1997 – 74.5 – – –
1998 – 80.7 – – –
1999 – 92.3 – – –
2000 – 96.2 86.9 76.4 71.1
2001 – 97.6 – – 72.9
2002 – 97.0 89.4 78.2 75.1
2003 – 96.0 90.6 – 78.6
2004 – 95.5 91.0 83.0 79.8
2005 – 93.6 92.0 87.0 80.6
2006 – 92.4 92.0 90.3 82.7
2007 – 92.2 91.6 93.0 84.1
2008 – 93.2 91.5 94.2 86.1
2009 – 96.4 89.9 98.3 85.9
2010 – 99.1 91.0 100.0 87.3
2011 – 100.9 91.0 101.2 88.4
2012 94.6 102.7 89.5 97.2 90.7
2013 104.1 104.5 99.2 98.1 93.3
2014 102.8 106.0 99.9 97.4 97.3
2015 101.1 107.5 100.9 97.7 101.0
2016 102.7 109.6 101.5 98.4 102.9
2017 103.0 110.4 102.3 99.2 105.1
2018 104.8 109.7 103.2 100.4 106.0
2019 103.7 110.5 104.4 102.0 105.5
2020 103.9 112.4 103.7 101.5 102.6
2021 106.3 115.7 106.7 103.0 98.3
2022 105.7 114.1 106.1 101.6 98.4
2023 – 105.6 105.8 – 102.1
2024 104.1 – 105.6 – 103.1

† series break

Mean years of schooling (UNDP)

years. Background bands: Brazil's presidents, not those of the chart's other geographies. Years with data: all series: 1990–2023.

Mean years of schooling (UNDP)
Source: UNDP — Human Development Report · Source version: HDR 2025 · Collected on: 2026-10-26 · License: CC-BY-3.0-IGO
Download data (CSV) · View the code: collection code · chart.ts
View the data as a table
Year BrazilArgentinaChileColombiaMexico
1990 3.7 8.1 8.4 6.3 5.9
1991 3.8 8.2 8.5 6.4 6.0
1992 4.0 8.3 8.5 6.4 6.1
1993 4.1 8.3 8.6 6.5 6.2
1994 4.3 8.4 8.7 6.6 6.2
1995 4.4 8.5 8.8 6.6 6.3
1996 4.6 8.5 8.9 6.7 6.4
1997 4.8 8.6 8.9 6.7 6.4
1998 4.9 8.7 9.0 6.8 6.5
1999 5.1 8.7 9.1 6.8 6.6
2000 5.3 8.8 9.1 6.9 6.7
2001 5.4 8.9 9.3 6.9 6.8
2002 5.6 9.4 9.4 7.0 7.0
2003 5.8 9.9 9.6 7.0 7.1
2004 6.0 10.0 9.7 7.1 7.3
2005 6.2 10.1 9.7 7.3 7.5
2006 6.3 10.2 9.8 6.8 7.9
2007 6.5 10.3 9.8 7.2 7.9
2008 6.7 10.4 10.1 7.3 7.9
2009 6.8 10.5 10.0 7.3 8.1
2010 6.9 10.6 9.9 7.4 8.0
2011 7.0 10.7 9.5 7.5 8.3
2012 7.2 10.8 9.8 7.6 8.5
2013 7.3 10.9 10.0 7.8 8.4
2014 7.4 10.9 10.1 8.0 8.4
2015 7.5 10.9 10.3 8.1 8.6
2016 7.7 10.9 10.4 8.2 8.6
2017 7.8 11.0 10.6 8.4 8.7
2018 8.0 11.1 10.8 8.5 8.9
2019 8.1 11.1 10.9 8.6 9.1
2020 8.3 11.1 11.1 8.9 9.2
2021 8.4 11.2 11.3 9.0 9.3
2022 8.4 11.2 11.3 9.0 9.3
2023 8.4 11.2 11.3 9.0 9.3

† series break

How to assess a government and its policies critically

Other factors that moved the same series

School closures in the pandemic affected enrollment, attendance and learning worldwide, and GDP fell in 2020, which changes the spending/GDP ratio. The permanent Fundeb was approved by Congress with an active role of the legislature. The catalog's series do not measure learning, which is where the literature expects the strongest pandemic effect.

Limitations

Sources

#NumberOrigin
1 126.5 siconfi.educ_uniao_paga BRA 2018 · National Treasury — Siconfi (DCA) and Central Bank (IPCA) · Source version DCA 2014-2025; IPCA SGS 433 · Collected on 2026-11-01
2 118.0 siconfi.educ_uniao_paga BRA 2019 · National Treasury — Siconfi (DCA) and Central Bank (IPCA) · Source version DCA 2014-2025; IPCA SGS 433 · Collected on 2026-11-01
3 107.6 siconfi.educ_uniao_paga BRA 2021 · National Treasury — Siconfi (DCA) and Central Bank (IPCA) · Source version DCA 2014-2025; IPCA SGS 433 · Collected on 2026-11-01
4 42.2 siconfi.superior_uniao_paga BRA 2018 · National Treasury — Siconfi (DCA) and Central Bank (IPCA) · Source version DCA 2014-2025; IPCA SGS 433 · Collected on 2026-11-01
5 41.9 siconfi.superior_uniao_paga BRA 2019 · National Treasury — Siconfi (DCA) and Central Bank (IPCA) · Source version DCA 2014-2025; IPCA SGS 433 · Collected on 2026-11-01
6 35.6 siconfi.superior_uniao_paga BRA 2021 · National Treasury — Siconfi (DCA) and Central Bank (IPCA) · Source version DCA 2014-2025; IPCA SGS 433 · Collected on 2026-11-01
7 6.1 wdi.se_xpd_totl_gd_zs BRA 2018 · World Bank — World Development Indicators · Source version 2026-10-08 · Collected on 2026-11-01
8 5.6 wdi.se_xpd_totl_gd_zs BRA 2022 · World Bank — World Development Indicators · Source version 2026-10-08 · Collected on 2026-11-01
9 52.1 wdi.se_ter_enrr BRA 2018 · World Bank — World Development Indicators · Source version 2026-10-08 · Collected on 2026-11-01
10 61.0 wdi.se_ter_enrr BRA 2022 · World Bank — World Development Indicators · Source version 2026-10-08 · Collected on 2026-11-01