* indicates monthly or quarterly data series

Government spending as percent of GDP, 2025:

The average for 2025 based on 38 countries was 15.5 percent. The highest value was in Lesotho: 36.43 percent and the lowest value was in Ethiopia: 5.84 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2025. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Measure: percent; Source: The World Bank
Select indicator
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series


Countries Government spending, percent of GDP, 2025 Global rank Available data
Lesotho 36.43 1 1960 - 2025
Eq. Guinea 32.41 2 2005 - 2025
Botswana 31.48 3 1960 - 2025
Seychelles 25.07 4 1976 - 2025
Cape Verde 22.86 5 2007 - 2025
Namibia 22.28 6 1980 - 2025
Burundi 20.64 7 1960 - 2025
Mozambique 19.2 8 1991 - 2025
South Africa 18.89 9 1960 - 2025
Malawi 18.24 10 2017 - 2025
Sudan 17.9 11 1960 - 2025
Burkina Faso 17.81 12 1960 - 2025
Guinea 16.72 13 1986 - 2025
Mauritania 16.03 14 1966 - 2025
DR Congo 15.94 15 1994 - 2025
G.-Bissau 15.48 16 1970 - 2025
Senegal 15.39 17 1960 - 2025
Rwanda 15.06 18 1960 - 2025
R. of Congo 14.88 19 1960 - 2025
Madagascar 14.61 20 1960 - 2025
Mauritius 14.19 21 1976 - 2025
Mali 13.06 22 1967 - 2025
Niger 12.23 23 1960 - 2025
Uganda 11.67 24 1960 - 2025
Kenya 11.21 25 1960 - 2025
Gabon 11.16 26 1960 - 2025
Cameroon 11.15 27 1965 - 2025
C.A. Republic 10.31 28 1960 - 2025
S.T.&Principe 10.3 29 2008 - 2025
Gambia 10.22 30 1977 - 2025
Chad 9.9 31 1960 - 2025
Tanzania 9.78 32 1990 - 2025
Comoros 9.01 33 1980 - 2025
Benin 8.87 34 1960 - 2025
Ivory Coast 8.71 35 1960 - 2025
Somalia 8.11 36 1960 - 2025
Sierra Leone 5.95 37 1964 - 2025
Ethiopia 5.84 38 2011 - 2025


New - World map: Government spending, 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.

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