Botswana: Government spending, percent of GDP

* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
 Botswana

Government spending as percent of GDP

 Latest value 31.48
 Year 2025
 Measure percent
 Data availability 1960 - 2025
 Average 25.33
 Min - Max 13.34 - 36.17
 Source The World Bank
 Available for Data download
The latest value from 2025 is 31.48 percent, a decline from 31.75 percent in 2024. In comparison, the world average is 16.56 percent, based on data from 131 countries. Historically, the average for Botswana from 1960 to 2025 is 25.33 percent. The minimum value, 13.34 percent, was reached in 1972 while the maximum of 36.17 percent was recorded in 2020. See the global rankings for that indicator or use the country comparator to compare trends over time.
Select indicator
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
From   To 


 Recent values Botswana: Government spending, percent of GDP
 2025 31.48
 2024 31.75
 2023 29.43
 2022 27.98
 2021 31.57
 2020 36.17
 2019 31.65
 2018 29.10




The government size of Botswana and other countries is calculated as the total government spending as percent of GDP.
Definition: Final consumption expenditure is expenditure on goods and services by resident institutional units for the direct satisfaction of human needs or wants, whether individual or collective. General government FCE includes all government current expenditures for purchases of goods and services (including compensation of employees), and most expenditures on national defense and security, but excludes government military expenditures that are part of government capital formation. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

Other resources:

Download data from our database

All indicators for Botswana

All indicators on the website

Article: Are trade deficits bad for the economy?

Article: Sources of economic growth

Article: Currency values and investment returns

All articles



 Related indicators Latest Reference Measure
 Government spending, percent of GDP 31.48 2025 percent
 Government spending, in dollars 6.27 2025 billion U.S. dollars
 Fiscal balance, percent of GDP -7.78 2024 percent
 Primary budget balance -6.76 2024 percent
 Government expenditure 21.79 Q1/2026 billion
 Tax revenue 22.42 2023 percent
 Taxes on goods and services 14.54 2023 percent
 Taxes on international trade 32.61 2023 percent
 Income and profits taxes 32.45 2023 percent
 Foreign aid 284.58 2023 million U.S. dollars
 Government debt 29.87 2024 percent
 Short-term government debt 4.98 2024 percent
This site uses cookies.
Learn more here


OK