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World Bank Group · General Government Consumption
Government consumption by country
How much does government spend on goods and services, compared with the economy?
Of the 132 countries compared in 2025, Ukraine had the highest reading, 38.9417%, and Egypt had the lowest reading, 5.4455%. In the middle country the figure was 16.2088%. Among the 71 countries measured in every edition since 1970, the middle one moved from 12.8150% to 15.4891%.
Government consumption · 2025
Context statistic
Highest of 132Ukraine
38.9417%012025 · position · derived
The highest and the lowest
The three countries with the highest values of 132 compared, the three with the lowest, and the highest on each continent. This statistic has no better end, so no country is shown as leading.
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02Every measured country
Government consumption on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a higher value. This statistic has no better end, so the shades describe size, not success.
- 5.4455–11.1617%
- 11.2115–14.9273%
- 15.0300–18.0239%
- 18.2359–21.3122%
- 21.4054–38.9417%
- No reading in 2025 (56 measured in an earlier edition)
- Europe
20.5648%
the middle country, of 40 measured · 49 members
Ukraine38.9417%
Ireland11.2423%Highest and lowest reading in Europe.
- Africa
15.0434%
the middle country, of 44 measured · 55 members
Lesotho36.4308%
Egypt5.4455%Highest and lowest reading in Africa.
- Americas
13.5425%
the middle country, of 18 measured · 48 members
Canada21.9051%
Haiti5.5259%Highest and lowest reading in Americas.
- Asia
12.9311%
the middle country, of 28 measured · 52 members
Israel24.9735%
Cambodia5.6524%Highest and lowest reading in Asia.
- Oceania
2 of 21 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, Samoa.
Australia23.1488%
Samoa18.5796%Highest and lowest reading in Oceania.
- Every region
20 sub-regions, highest middle country first
- Northern Europe
22.7364%
the middle country, of 10 measured · 13 members
Sweden26.4325%Ireland11.2423%Highest and lowest reading in Northern Europe.
- Western Europe
22.5148%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 9 members
Netherlands25.8707%
Switzerland12.0425%Highest and lowest reading in Western Europe.
- Eastern Europe
20.4166%
the middle country, of 10 measured · 10 members
Ukraine38.9417%
Romania17.3027%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Southern Europe
18.2359%
the middle country, of 13 measured · 17 members
Croatia24.2786%
Albania12.8457%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Europe.
- Northern Africa
18.1524%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 6 members
Libya32.2747%Egypt5.4455%Highest and lowest reading in Northern Africa.
- Western Asia
16.2891%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 19 members
Israel24.9735%
Armenia10.1944%Highest and lowest reading in Western Asia.
- South America
14.9916%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 12 members
Brazil19.1341%
Paraguay10.8605%Highest and lowest reading in South America.
- Eastern Africa
14.4008%
the middle country, of 14 measured · 19 members
Seychelles25.0697%
Ethiopia5.8394%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Western Africa
14.2251%
the middle country, of 12 measured · 16 members
Cabo Verde22.8560%
Sierra Leone5.9470%Highest and lowest reading in Western Africa.
- Central America
12.9009%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 8 members
El Salvador16.4129%
Nicaragua11.3641%Highest and lowest reading in Central America.
- South-eastern Asia
11.3110%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 11 members
Brunei23.8115%Cambodia5.6524%Highest and lowest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Middle Africa
11.1549%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 9 members
Equatorial Guinea32.4055%
Chad9.8987%Highest and lowest reading in Middle Africa.
- Southern Asia
8.8530%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 9 members
Iran13.2914%
Bangladesh5.8017%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Asia.
- Australia and New Zealand
1 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia.
Australia23.1488%Highest and lowest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Caribbean
3 of 24 measured — too few for a middle: Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico.
Dominican Republic11.6656%Haiti5.5259%Highest and lowest reading in Caribbean.
- Central Asia
2 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan15.9077%
Kyrgyzstan12.2127%Highest and lowest reading in Central Asia.
- Eastern Asia
4 of 8 measured — too few for a middle: Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia, South Korea.
South Korea17.6477%
Macau12.1991%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Northern America
1 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada.
Canada21.9051%Highest and lowest reading in Northern America.
- Polynesia
1 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Samoa.
Samoa18.5796%Highest and lowest reading in Polynesia.
- Southern Africa
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa.
Lesotho36.4308%
South Africa18.8902%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Africa.
03The whole field at once
The spread
132 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 16.2088%; a quarter are above 20.3868%, and a quarter below 11.7599%. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 188 ever measured
Every country
In order, highest value first. “=” marks a position shared with another country. World Bank Group ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. This is not total public spending, and the difference is large. Investment and transfers — pensions, unemployment benefits, subsidies — are excluded, so a country with a generous welfare state can appear near the bottom of this table. Neither end is the good end.
Showing 25 of 188 countries
Values for 2025. The change column compares 2025 with 2024 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
051970–2025 · 56 reference years
Over time
Each point is one year from 1970. The share tends to rise sharply in a recession without any policy change, because GDP falls faster than public spending does.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 71 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 132 | 16.2088% | 11.7599% – 20.3868% | 15.4891% |
| 2024 | 169 | 16.7588% | 12.2502% – 21.0371% | 16.4015% |
| 2023 | 173 | 16.8531% | 12.2174% – 20.4758% | 16.3916% |
| 2022 | 176 | 17.0978% | 11.8348% – 20.7078% | 16.5401% |
| 2021 | 176 | 17.2530% | 12.6674% – 21.5678% | 16.8274% |
| 2020 | 177 | 18.3670% | 13.1476% – 22.2865% | 17.4784% |
| 2019 | 176 | 16.5101% | 12.3480% – 19.9944% | 15.7732% |
| 2018 | 178 | 15.8423% | 11.7850% – 19.6491% | 15.4215% |
| 2017 | 179 | 15.8529% | 12.0296% – 19.9744% | 15.8238% |
| 2016 | 178 | 16.4534% | 12.5520% – 20.0105% | 15.6742% |
| 2015 | 178 | 16.8040% | 12.5103% – 20.2086% | 15.5688% |
| 2014 | 175 | 16.2632% | 12.3384% – 19.7653% | 15.8000% |
| 2013 | 174 | 16.3752% | 12.3010% – 19.8131% | 15.2963% |
| 2012 | 172 | 15.7742% | 11.8641% – 19.9973% | 15.0077% |
| 2011 | 173 | 15.8359% | 12.0219% – 19.9439% | 15.7559% |
| 2010 | 173 | 15.7858% | 11.6894% – 20.5106% | 14.6885% |
| 2009 | 172 | 16.2908% | 11.8958% – 20.8600% | 15.9801% |
| 2008 | 171 | 14.9434% | 10.9876% – 19.4927% | 14.3420% |
| 2007 | 170 | 15.5958% | 11.0773% – 19.0218% | 14.4289% |
| 2006 | 168 | 15.1338% | 11.1580% – 19.2832% | 14.3470% |
| 2005 | 167 | 15.7540% | 11.4591% – 19.0588% | 13.9948% |
| 2004 | 164 | 15.5301% | 11.4686% – 19.5328% | 15.0108% |
| 2003 | 163 | 16.0559% | 11.6024% – 19.6257% | 15.6323% |
| 2002 | 161 | 16.0409% | 11.8403% – 20.2270% | 14.9755% |
| 2001 | 159 | 16.0963% | 11.6405% – 19.5655% | 15.3332% |
| 2000 | 159 | 15.9016% | 11.4737% – 19.6123% | 14.4955% |
| 1999 | 154 | 15.8431% | 11.6569% – 19.9785% | 15.0262% |
| 1998 | 154 | 16.2831% | 11.2152% – 20.4522% | 15.4669% |
| 1997 | 152 | 15.5471% | 11.2102% – 20.1721% | 14.3459% |
| 1996 | 152 | 14.3467% | 11.0903% – 19.9381% | 13.0629% |
| 1995 | 153 | 14.8429% | 11.1029% – 19.6371% | 14.4476% |
| 1994 | 145 | 15.3665% | 11.3523% – 19.3616% | 14.4735% |
| 1993 | 143 | 15.5953% | 11.9957% – 20.0400% | 15.2501% |
| 1992 | 139 | 16.0013% | 12.1088% – 19.8659% | 15.6897% |
| 1991 | 137 | 16.1816% | 11.3386% – 20.5506% | 15.0822% |
| 1990 | 135 | 16.1699% | 10.9578% – 19.9392% | 15.6975% |
| 1989 | 123 | 15.8010% | 11.0648% – 19.5578% | 15.7055% |
| 1988 | 120 | 15.6497% | 10.8273% – 20.2337% | 15.6199% |
| 1987 | 120 | 15.9388% | 11.4663% – 20.8845% | 15.4529% |
| 1986 | 118 | 15.5660% | 11.6971% – 20.6419% | 15.5445% |
| 1985 | 117 | 15.9018% | 11.7459% – 20.2034% | 15.7513% |
| 1984 | 118 | 15.5137% | 11.0387% – 19.8310% | 15.4336% |
| 1983 | 119 | 15.8294% | 11.3269% – 21.2554% | 15.6365% |
| 1982 | 118 | 15.7451% | 11.4579% – 20.7674% | 15.7782% |
| 1981 | 116 | 15.7738% | 12.3559% – 20.7958% | 15.7374% |
| 1980 | 113 | 15.2000% | 11.6297% – 19.8034% | 15.6695% |
| 1979 | 103 | 15.0671% | 11.4596% – 19.7870% | 15.0643% |
| 1978 | 104 | 15.4112% | 11.6682% – 19.7385% | 15.3296% |
| 1977 | 104 | 15.2974% | 11.1588% – 18.6457% | 15.3006% |
| 1976 | 102 | 14.8397% | 10.9776% – 19.1094% | 14.3971% |
| 1975 | 99 | 14.6147% | 10.9061% – 18.5889% | 14.6147% |
| 1974 | 96 | 13.1892% | 9.9021% – 17.7779% | 13.2252% |
| 1973 | 95 | 12.8387% | 10.5384% – 17.4826% | 12.5740% |
| 1972 | 94 | 13.4710% | 10.8086% – 17.7389% | 13.3360% |
| 1971 | 94 | 13.6050% | 10.7560% – 17.8462% | 13.8714% |
| 1970 | 95 | 12.8375% | 10.3669% – 16.9727% | 12.8150% |
062024 → 2025
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions — reference years recalculated in one report, not two separate publications. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Rose most
before → after- Equatorial Guinea25.9400% → 32.4055% · 14th → 3rd+6.4654
Guinea13.8724% → 16.7223% · 111th → 63rd+2.8499- Samoa16.7588% → 18.5796% · 85th → 45th+1.8208
Uganda10.0217% → 11.6674% · 146th → 100th+1.6457
Republic of the Congo13.3811% → 14.8782% · 114th → 80th+1.4970
Fell most
before → after
Djibouti17.0953% → 15.0300% · 82nd → 78th−2.0653- Libya34.2074% → 32.2747% · 7th → 4th−1.9328
- Kyrgyzstan14.0709% → 12.2127% · 110th → 96th−1.8581
Rwanda16.7343% → 15.0568% · 86th → 76th−1.6775
Burkina Faso19.4080% → 17.8056% · 53rd → 55th−1.6024
132 countries were measured in both 2024 and 2025. The field changed from 169 to 132 countries, so a place can move for reasons that have nothing to do with the country itself.
07Across every edition
Government consumption in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
147.7350%
General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP)
Lowest reading on record
0.0000%
General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP)
Biggest rise between editions
+37.4729
38.7492% → 76.2221%
Biggest fall between editions
−45.4717
147.7350% → 102.2633%
Biggest change since first measured
+29.6694
2.7361% → 32.4055%
Highest most often
16 of 56
editions, alone at the first-listed end
08The measure
About government consumption
General government consumption is what a government spends on goods and services — public sector wages, defence, and the running of public administration — measured as a share of the whole economy. It is the most widely available measure of how big a country’s state is in spending terms.
What the number is: General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP).
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Governance & Institutions and Economy & Innovation, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Governance & InstitutionsEconomy & InnovationWhich statistics vote, and why
Moves with
Where government consumption is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Public Sector Wage BillWorld Bank Group · 117 countries in commonρ 0.68
- Ecological FootprintKeyGlobal Footprint Network · 90 countries in commonρ 0.62
- World Energy Trilemma IndexWorld Energy Council · 101 countries in commonρ 0.62
Moves against
Where government consumption is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Vulnerable EmploymentKeyILO · 127 countries in commonρ −0.59
- Self-Employment RateILO · 127 countries in commonρ −0.58
- Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Value Added (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 125 countries in commonρ −0.57
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 108 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
More from World Bank Group
11Questions
Government consumption: questions and answers
Which country has the highest government consumption?
Ukraine, at 38.9417%, among the 132 countries compared in 2025.
Which country has the lowest government consumption?
Egypt, at 5.4455%, among the 132 countries compared in 2025.
How many countries does the General Government Consumption cover?
132 in 2025, and 188 at least once across all editions. The number measured varies from 94 to 179 between editions.
What is the world average government consumption?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 132 compared in 2025, the figure was 16.2088%.
Is this World Bank Group’s own ranking?
No. World Bank Group publishes the values but ranks nobody; the position on this page is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values, and equal values share a position.
How often is the General Government Consumption published?
This site holds 56 reference years, 1970–2025, all recalculated in World Bank Group’s 2026 report on one method — not 56 separate publications.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From World Bank Group, under CC BY 4.0. Published by the World Bank via its indicator API (NE.CON.GOVT.ZS), compiled from countries’ own national accounts. Years before 1970 report fewer than 80 countries and are not imported. Every edition is available on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, unrounded.
12Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
General Government Consumption — World Bank Group
Published by the World Bank via its indicator API (NE.CON.GOVT.ZS), compiled from countries’ own national accounts. Years before 1970 report fewer than 80 countries and are not imported.
Newest edition
Report year 2025Data year 2025
Cite the source as: World Bank. World Development Indicators. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
Licence: CC BY 4.0, checked 2026-09-10.
How this page reads the numbers
- World Bank Group ranks nobody on this measure. The position is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values; equal values share a position.
- This statistic has no better end, so the page describes higher and lower values and never calls a country a leader.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The full note on this data
56 reference years (1970–2025), covering 94 to 179 countries, as published by the World Bank via its indicator API (NE.CON.GOVT.ZS). What government spends on goods and services — wages, defence, the day-to-day running of public administration — as a share of GDP. ⚠ A STRUCTURAL SHARE, NOT A SCORE: it measures the size of the state in spending terms, and neither a large nor a small one is a finding. ⚠ IT IS NOT TOTAL PUBLIC SPENDING. Investment and transfers — pensions, benefits, subsidies — are excluded, so a generous welfare state can look small here. ⚠ Years before 1970 report fewer than 80 countries and are not imported. ⚠ No rank is published, so none is stored or derived.
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Government consumption by country: General Government Consumption, data from World Bank Group. https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/government-consumption