UNESCO urges debt swaps to bolster education funding

3 min read

UNESCO has called on governments and international lenders to scale up debt-for-education swaps and published guidance at the Transforming Education Summit+4 in Paris, arguing the mechanism can redirect savings from costly debt servicing into schools, teacher training and student support. The agency said 113 countries, home to 6.1 billion people, now spend more on debt than education, with debt payments nearly four times education spending in low-income countries. UNESCO warned that global aid to education is shrinking—aid fell 8% in 2024 and basic education funding dropped 15%—and estimated a US$97 billion annual gap for low- and lower-middle-income countries.

Low-income countries face a US$97 billion annual education funding gap