Government Expense
Government expense as a percentage of GDP.
Data quality
Recency and time-series depthGood59latest within 1 year of the series maximum and at least 10 observations
Adequate3latest within 3 years and at least 5 observations
Limited5older or comparatively short series
Indicator metadata
Definition and machine-readable identifiersCountry ranking · 2022
59 comparable countries| Rank | Country | 2022 value | Latest year | Latest value | Observations | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ukraine | 57.89% | 2023 | 65.56% | 25 | 1999–2023 |
| 2 | Greece | 50.80% | 2023 | 47.30% | 48 | 1972–2023 |
| 3 | France | 48.86% | 2023 | 47.26% | 52 | 1972–2023 |
| 4 | Italy | 48.37% | 2023 | 47.28% | 46 | 1973–2023 |
| 5 | Austria | 47.36% | 2023 | 46.03% | 52 | 1972–2023 |
| 6 | Slovenia | 43.55% | 2023 | 42.87% | 25 | 1992–2023 |
| 7 | Hungary | 42.42% | 2022 | 42.42% | 42 | 1981–2022 |
| 8 | Luxembourg | 40.90% | 2023 | 42.23% | 52 | 1972–2023 |
| 9 | United Kingdom | 40.65% | 2023 | 41.23% | 52 | 1972–2023 |
| 10 | Slovakia | 39.77% | 2022 | 39.77% | 28 | 1995–2022 |
| 11 | Belgium | 39.74% | 2022 | 39.74% | 28 | 1995–2022 |
| 12 | Netherlands | 39.37% | 2023 | 39.97% | 51 | 1973–2023 |
| 13 | Bulgaria | 39.32% | 2023 | 35.76% | 34 | 1990–2023 |
| 14 | Portugal | 39.31% | 2023 | 37.16% | 48 | 1975–2023 |
| 15 | Finland | 37.93% | 2023 | 44.93% | 52 | 1972–2023 |
| 16 | Croatia | 37.84% | 2023 | 38.13% | 33 | 1991–2023 |
| 17 | Romania | 37.30% | 2022 | 37.30% | 42 | 1981–2022 |
| 18 | Latvia | 36.35% | 2023 | 34.20% | 30 | 1994–2023 |
| 19 | Poland | 36.06% | 2023 | 39.10% | 30 | 1994–2023 |
| 20 | New Zealand | 35.53% | 2022 | 35.53% | 39 | 1972–2022 |
| 21 | Serbia | 35.46% | 2022 | 35.46% | 16 | 2007–2022 |
| 22 | Estonia | 35.42% | 2023 | 37.69% | 30 | 1991–2023 |
| 23 | Spain | 35.34% | 2023 | 34.04% | 43 | 1972–2023 |
| 24 | Israel | 35.25% | 2023 | 37.44% | 52 | 1972–2023 |
| 25 | Czech Republic | 34.44% | 2022 | 34.44% | 30 | 1993–2022 |
| 26 | Lithuania | 34.05% | 2023 | 34.10% | 32 | 1991–2023 |
| 27 | South Africa | 33.42% | 2022 | 33.42% | 51 | 1972–2022 |
| 28 | Iceland | 32.57% | 2023 | 32.07% | 52 | 1972–2023 |
| 29 | Sweden | 32.51% | 2022 | 32.51% | 51 | 1972–2022 |
| 30 | Colombia | 32.39% | 2023 | 33.34% | 20 | 1998–2023 |
| 31 | Denmark | 32.16% | 2023 | 33.34% | 52 | 1972–2023 |
| 32 | Brazil | 31.64% | 2023 | 32.43% | 14 | 2010–2023 |
| 33 | Russia | 31.40% | 2023 | 29.60% | 28 | 1994–2023 |
| 34 | South Korea | 31.30% | 2023 | 28.32% | 52 | 1972–2023 |
| 35 | Germany | 31.17% | 2022 | 31.17% | 51 | 1972–2022 |
| 36 | Norway | 29.29% | 2023 | 35.89% | 52 | 1972–2023 |
| 37 | Turkey | 29.06% | 2023 | 33.03% | 42 | 1972–2023 |
| 38 | Jordan | 28.80% | 2023 | 28.44% | 34 | 1990–2023 |
| 39 | Morocco | 28.14% | 2023 | 26.61% | 31 | 1990–2023 |
| 40 | Australia | 27.58% | 2022 | 27.58% | 51 | 1972–2022 |
| 41 | Kenya | 25.06% | 2023 | 27.84% | 10 | 2014–2023 |
| 42 | United States | 25.05% | 2023 | 24.90% | 52 | 1972–2023 |
| 43 | Chile | 24.13% | 2023 | 24.58% | 52 | 1972–2023 |
| 44 | Ghana | 22.68% | 2022 | 22.68% | 22 | 2001–2022 |
| 45 | Mexico | 22.31% | 2023 | 22.41% | 44 | 1972–2023 |
| 46 | Thailand | 22.23% | 2023 | 20.77% | 52 | 1972–2023 |
| 47 | Saudi Arabia | 21.97% | 2023 | 24.22% | 14 | 2010–2023 |
| 48 | Argentina | 21.87% | 2023 | 21.01% | 25 | 1990–2023 |
| 49 | Japan | 20.93% | 2022 | 20.93% | 48 | 1972–2022 |
| 50 | Ireland | 19.24% | 2022 | 19.24% | 51 | 1972–2022 |
| 51 | Philippines | 18.61% | 2023 | 16.88% | 28 | 1990–2023 |
| 52 | Canada | 18.25% | 2023 | 19.26% | 34 | 1990–2023 |
| 53 | Malaysia | 17.90% | 2023 | 17.01% | 28 | 1996–2023 |
| 54 | Switzerland | 16.47% | 2023 | 16.73% | 47 | 1972–2023 |
| 55 | Kazakhstan | 16.16% | 2023 | 17.45% | 22 | 1997–2023 |
| 56 | Singapore | 14.82% | 2023 | 17.30% | 52 | 1972–2023 |
| 57 | India | 13.33% | 2022 | 13.33% | 46 | 1974–2022 |
| 58 | Ethiopia | 7.30% | 2023 | 6.12% | 33 | 1990–2023 |
| 59 | United Arab Emirates | 3.81% | 2023 | 3.77% | 16 | 1997–2023 |
Related financial terms
Gerhard Merk Financial DictionaryLinks connect the economic dataset with related definitions in the Gerhard Merk financial terminology collection.
The ranking uses a single common year rather than mixing each country’s latest observation. GM Economy selects the most recent year with data for at least 75% of countries covered by this indicator; if no year reaches that threshold, the year with the broadest coverage is used. Values are ordered from highest to lowest. This is a descriptive data ranking, not an assessment of whether a higher or lower value is preferable.