Central government expense by country, 2021
Cash payments by central government for operating activities, such as wages, goods and services, interest and social benefits, as a percentage of GDP. Subnational government is not covered.
125 places ranked for 2021. Highest: Kiribati (84.1%). Lowest: United Arab Emirates (4.3%). The median is 28.5%.
Highest 10
- 1. Kiribati 84.1%
- 2. Greece 54.8%
- 3. Austria 50.0%
- 4. France 50.0%
- 5. Italy 49.7%
- 6. Slovenia 46.6%
- 7. San Marino 44.1%
- 8. United Kingdom 42.9%
- 9. Portugal 42.5%
- 10. Slovakia 42.4%
Lowest 10
- 125. United Arab Emirates 4.3%
- 124. Lebanon 6.3%
- 123. Bangladesh 8.3%
- 122. Ethiopia 8.4%
- 121. Democratic Republic of the Congo 8.6%
- 120. Equatorial Guinea 10.4%
- 119. Madagascar 10.7%
- 118. Laos 10.8%
- 117. Central African Republic 11.7%
- 116. Burundi 12.3%
The chart loads when you scroll to it.
The chart shows the 40 highest values; the table lists all 125. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators.
In short
- Among the 125 countries with a value for 2021, the highest is Kiribati (84.1%) and the lowest United Arab Emirates (4.3%).
- Half of the countries are above 28.5% and half below.
- From 2020 to 2021 the value rose in 2 countries and fell in 13.
- The figure for the world was 31.7% in 2021, against 26.6% in 2016 (+5.2 percentage points).
Full ranking
| # | Country | Value | Period | Relative size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiribati | 84.1% | 2021 | |
| 2 | Greece | 54.8% | 2021 | |
| 3 | Austria | 50.0% | 2021 | |
| 4 | France | 50.0% | 2021 | |
| 5 | Italy | 49.7% | 2021 | |
| 6 | Slovenia | 46.6% | 2021 | |
| 7 | San Marino | 44.1% | 2021 | |
| 8 | United Kingdom | 42.9% | 2021 | |
| 9 | Portugal | 42.5% | 2021 | |
| 10 | Slovakia | 42.4% | 2021 | |
| 11 | Hungary | 42.3% | 2021 | |
| 12 | Netherlands | 41.8% | 2021 | |
| 13 | Belgium | 41.4% | 2021 | |
| 14 | Timor-Leste | 41.2% | 2021 | |
| 15 | Cyprus | 40.7% | 2021 | |
| 16 | Croatia | 40.7% | 2021 | |
| 17 | Finland | 40.1% | 2021 | |
| 18 | Luxembourg | 39.0% | 2021 | |
| 19 | Latvia | 38.5% | 2021 | |
| 20 | Spain | 38.4% | 2021 | |
| 21 | Estonia | 38.2% | 2021 | |
| 22 | Israel | 38.2% | 2021 | |
| 23 | Lesotho | 38.1% | 2021 | |
| 24 | Bulgaria | 37.7% | 2021 | |
| 25 | Serbia | 37.7% | 2021 | |
| 26 | Namibia | 37.6% | 2021 | |
| 27 | Romania | 37.2% | 2021 | |
| 28 | Malta | 37.2% | 2021 | |
| 29 | Poland | 37.0% | 2021 | |
| 30 | Czechia | 36.8% | 2021 | |
| 31 | Denmark | 36.4% | 2021 | |
| 32 | Fiji | 36.3% | 2021 | |
| 33 | Tonga | 36.0% | 2021 | |
| 34 | Colombia | 35.7% | 2021 | |
| 35 | Norway | 35.2% | 2021 | |
| 36 | Lithuania | 35.2% | 2021 | |
| 37 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 34.9% | 2021 | |
| 38 | Iceland | 34.7% | 2021 | |
| 39 | South Africa | 34.6% | 2021 | |
| 40 | Samoa | 34.4% | 2021 | |
| 41 | New Zealand | 33.6% | 2021 | |
| 42 | North Macedonia | 33.3% | 2021 | |
| 43 | Ukraine | 33.3% | 2021 | |
| 44 | Sweden | 33.2% | 2021 | |
| 45 | Germany | 32.7% | 2021 | |
| 46 | Australia | 32.6% | 2021 | |
| 47 | Mauritius | 32.5% | 2021 | |
| 48 | Ecuador | 31.9% | 2021 | |
| 49 | Macao SAR, China | 31.8% | 2021 | |
| 50 | Uruguay | 31.7% | 2021 | |
| 51 | Mongolia | 31.7% | 2021 | |
| 52 | United States | 31.2% | 2021 | |
| 53 | Chile | 30.8% | 2021 | |
| 54 | Russia | 30.8% | 2021 | |
| 55 | Costa Rica | 30.5% | 2021 | |
| 56 | Solomon Islands | 30.4% | 2021 | |
| 57 | Türkiye | 30.2% | 2021 | |
| 58 | Moldova | 30.0% | 2021 | |
| 59 | Vanuatu | 29.8% | 2021 | |
| 60 | El Salvador | 29.5% | 2021 | |
| 61 | Brazil | 29.5% | 2021 | |
| 62 | Maldives | 29.5% | 2021 | |
| 63 | South Korea | 28.5% | 2021 | |
| 64 | Botswana | 28.4% | 2021 | |
| 65 | Belarus | 27.9% | 2021 | |
| 66 | Georgia | 27.2% | 2021 | |
| 67 | Azerbaijan | 27.1% | 2021 | |
| 68 | West Bank and Gaza | 26.2% | 2021 | |
| 69 | Jordan | 26.0% | 2021 | |
| 70 | Morocco | 25.6% | 2021 | |
| 71 | Thailand | 25.1% | 2021 | |
| 72 | Zambia | 25.1% | 2021 | |
| 73 | Saudi Arabia | 25.0% | 2021 | |
| 74 | Armenia | 25.0% | 2021 | |
| 75 | Bahamas | 24.7% | 2021 | |
| 76 | Eswatini | 24.6% | 2021 | |
| 77 | Albania | 24.4% | 2021 | |
| 78 | Kenya | 23.6% | 2021 | |
| 79 | Kyrgyzstan | 23.4% | 2021 | |
| 80 | Mozambique | 23.3% | 2021 | |
| 81 | Argentina | 22.9% | 2021 | |
| 82 | Peru | 22.8% | 2021 | |
| 83 | Canada | 22.5% | 2021 | |
| 84 | Ireland | 22.3% | 2021 | |
| 85 | Uzbekistan | 21.9% | 2021 | |
| 86 | Mexico | 20.9% | 2021 | |
| 87 | Japan | 20.8% | 2021 | |
| 88 | Ghana | 20.8% | 2021 | |
| 89 | Rwanda | 20.0% | 2021 | |
| 90 | Burkina Faso | 19.9% | 2021 | |
| 91 | Papua New Guinea | 19.8% | 2021 | |
| 92 | Senegal | 19.6% | 2021 | |
| 93 | Nepal | 19.4% | 2021 | |
| 94 | Philippines | 19.1% | 2021 | |
| 95 | Switzerland | 18.4% | 2021 | |
| 96 | Sri Lanka | 17.5% | 2021 | |
| 97 | Dominican Republic | 17.4% | 2021 | |
| 98 | Malaysia | 17.3% | 2021 | |
| 99 | Malawi | 17.2% | 2021 | |
| 100 | Nicaragua | 17.2% | 2021 | |
| 101 | Panama | 17.1% | 2021 | |
| 102 | Kazakhstan | 17.1% | 2021 | |
| 103 | Paraguay | 16.7% | 2021 | |
| 104 | Côte d'Ivoire | 16.4% | 2021 | |
| 105 | Republic of the Congo | 16.1% | 2021 | |
| 106 | Singapore | 16.1% | 2021 | |
| 107 | Uganda | 15.6% | 2021 | |
| 108 | Tanzania | 15.1% | 2021 | |
| 109 | Guinea-Bissau | 14.2% | 2021 | |
| 110 | Gabon | 14.1% | 2021 | |
| 111 | Guatemala | 13.3% | 2021 | |
| 112 | Togo | 13.2% | 2021 | |
| 113 | Cambodia | 12.6% | 2021 | |
| 114 | Tajikistan | 12.5% | 2021 | |
| 115 | Cameroon | 12.4% | 2021 | |
| 116 | Burundi | 12.3% | 2021 | |
| 117 | Central African Republic | 11.7% | 2021 | |
| 118 | Laos | 10.8% | 2021 | |
| 119 | Madagascar | 10.7% | 2021 | |
| 120 | Equatorial Guinea | 10.4% | 2021 | |
| 121 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 8.6% | 2021 | |
| 122 | Ethiopia | 8.4% | 2021 | |
| 123 | Bangladesh | 8.3% | 2021 | |
| 124 | Lebanon | 6.3% | 2021 | |
| 125 | United Arab Emirates | 4.3% | 2021 |
Places are ordered from the highest to the lowest value. Group medians on this site are the middle value of the members with data for the same year; they are not official aggregates.
How this ranking works
Every country is ranked on its value for 2021, the latest period that most countries have, so all values are for the same point in time. Countries without a value for 2021 are left out. Groups and aggregates such as the European Union are not ranked. Values are as published by World Bank; the ranking is a plain ordering from the highest to the lowest value and says nothing about whether a high value is good or bad.
Earlier years: use the year selector above. Methodology · Coverage and freshness