Government spending by function by country
Countries reporting
37
Highest
46.01
Finland
Lowest
20.16
United States
Median
36.37
Years covered
18
2007–2024
Data points
618
What the numbers show
Government spending by function is currently reported for 37 countries. The highest value is 46.01 in Finland; the lowest is 20.16 in United States.
The median across all reporting countries is 36.37, and the mean is 34.4.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 2.
Over the past decade 18 countries rose and 19 fell. The largest increase was in South Korea (up 27.0%), and the largest decrease in Hungary (down 24.1%).
Government spending by function: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finland | 46.01 | 2023 | up 6.4% | rising |
| 2 | Luxembourg | 42.52 | 2024 | down 1.3% | rising |
| 3 | Denmark | 41.49 | 2024 | down 3.4% | flat |
| 4 | Austria | 41.26 | 2024 | up 1.1% | flat |
| 5 | France | 40.93 | 2023 | down 1.9% | flat |
| 6 | Spain | 40.69 | 2023 | up 3.9% | rising |
| 7 | Germany | 40.62 | 2023 | down 1.3% | flat |
| 8 | Japan | 39.91 | 2023 | down 1.3% | flat |
| 9 | Switzerland | 39.31 | 2023 | down 1.3% | flat |
| 10 | Italy | 39.27 | 2023 | down 4.0% | rising |
| 11 | Portugal | 39.15 | 2023 | up 0.4% | rising |
| 12 | Sweden | 37.78 | 2023 | down 8.5% | falling |
| 13 | Belgium | 37.66 | 2023 | up 5.3% | rising |
| 14 | Netherlands | 37.59 | 2023 | up 1.5% | rising |
| 15 | Norway | 37.56 | 2024 | down 4.6% | flat |
| 16 | Lithuania | 37.5 | 2023 | up 6.8% | rising |
| 17 | Greece | 37.34 | 2023 | up 20.0% | rising |
| 18 | Slovenia | 36.48 | 2023 | up 7.0% | flat |
| 19 | Slovakia | 36.37 | 2023 | up 0.5% | rising |
| 20 | Poland | 35.94 | 2023 | down 4.2% | rising |
| 21 | Bulgaria | 35.55 | 2023 | down 0.5% | flat |
| 22 | Ireland | 35.51 | 2023 | down 3.8% | flat |
| 23 | United Kingdom | 32.87 | 2023 | down 12.6% | falling |
| 24 | Romania | 31.39 | 2023 | down 3.0% | rising |
| 25 | Estonia | 31.29 | 2023 | up 4.4% | rising |
| 26 | Latvia | 30.98 | 2023 | up 3.6% | rising |
| 27 | Czechia | 30.69 | 2023 | down 5.4% | flat |
| 28 | Chile | 30.4 | 2023 | up 0.6% | rising |
| 29 | Israel | 28.2 | 2023 | up 7.5% | rising |
| 30 | Croatia | 27.85 | 2023 | down 9.2% | flat |
| 31 | Australia | 26.46 | 2023 | up 0.6% | falling |
| 32 | South Korea | 26.16 | 2023 | up 27.0% | rising |
| 33 | Costa Rica | 26.09 | 2021 | up 5.1% | rising |
| 34 | Colombia | 25.08 | 2023 | down 6.0% | falling |
| 35 | Hungary | 24.88 | 2023 | down 24.1% | falling |
| 36 | Iceland | 23.86 | 2023 | up 11.6% | rising |
| 37 | United States | 20.16 | 2023 | down 2.3% | rising |