Primary government spending as a share of original budget by country

Primary government expenditures as a proportion of original approved budget (%)

Countries reporting
162
Highest
140.4%
Libya
Lowest
37.8%
Nigeria
Median
99.2%
Years covered
21
2004–2024
Data points
2,352

What the numbers show

Primary government spending as a share of original budget is currently reported for 162 countries. The highest value is 140.4% in Libya; the lowest is 37.8% in Nigeria.

The median across all reporting countries is 99.2%, and the mean is 98.0%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 4.

Over the past decade 77 countries rose and 85 fell. The largest increase was in Lithuania (up 1,358.0%), and the largest decrease in Cameroon (down 56.9%).

Primary government spending as a share of original budget: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Libya 140.4% 2023 up 61.5% rising
2 Nicaragua 134.6% 2021 up 31.3% rising
3 Slovakia 133.5% 2022 up 47.6% rising
4 Argentina 128.2% 2021 up 8.2% flat
5 Zimbabwe 127.9% 2021 up 91.2% volatile
6 Dominican Republic 125.7% 2021 up 7.2% falling
7 Japan 123.0% 2022 up 15.0% rising
8 Turkmenistan 122.2% 2023 up 23.8% flat
9 Sierra Leone 122.2% 2023 down 1.2% rising
10 Hungary 122.0% 2022 up 21.2% rising
11 Ukraine 118.3% 2023 up 22.5% rising
12 Czechia 117.4% 2022 up 17.5% rising
13 South Sudan 116.0% 2023 up 13.4% rising
14 Lithuania 115.6% 2022 up 1,358.0% volatile
15 Saudi Arabia 114.5% 2023 down 5.7% falling
16 Turkey 114.1% 2022 up 10.7% rising
17 Montenegro 114.1% 2023 up 1.8% rising
18 Anguilla 113.5% 2022 up 19.9% flat
19 Burundi 112.4% 2023 up 27.4% rising
19 Italy 112.4% 2022 up 10.5% flat
21 French Polynesia 111.6% 2020 up 4.6% flat
22 Micronesia (country) 111.5% 2021 up 44.5% rising
23 Slovenia 111.4% 2022 up 14.8% rising
24 Guyana 111.3% 2022 up 10.3% flat
25 Zambia 111.2% 2024 up 18.4% flat
26 Latvia 109.4% 2022 up 13.1% rising
27 Uzbekistan 109.1% 2023 up 11.1% rising
28 Cook Islands 109.0% 2020 down 4.3% falling
30 Spain 108.0% 2022 up 5.9% rising
31 Romania 107.7% 2024 up 10.3% rising
32 Cyprus 107.6% 2022 up 3.2% falling
33 Jamaica 107.5% 2022 up 9.2% flat
34 Mexico 107.2% 2021 up 0.8% falling
35 Malawi 107.2% 2023 down 12.7% falling
37 Austria 107.0% 2022 up 1.5% flat
39 Grenada 106.5% 2022 up 74.4% falling
40 Maldives 106.5% 2024 up 6.5% rising
41 Belarus 106.4% 2022 down 5.5% falling
42 Belgium 105.8% 2022 down 0.3% flat
43 Ghana 105.8% 2022 up 10.4% falling
44 Namibia 105.5% 2023 up 4.5% rising
45 Norway 105.3% 2022 up 6.4% flat
46 Tajikistan 105.0% 2022 up 22.0% flat
47 El Salvador 104.9% 2022 up 6.0% flat
48 Azerbaijan 104.8% 2024 up 12.4% falling
49 Estonia 103.9% 2021 up 1.9% flat
50 Germany 103.8% 2022 down 1.3% flat
51 Papua New Guinea 103.6% 2020 down 4.1% falling
52 France 103.3% 2022 down 0.3% flat
53 Tunisia 103.2% 2022 up 0.1% flat
54 Portugal 103.0% 2022 up 0.6% flat
55 Malaysia 103.0% 2024 up 4.5% falling
56 South Africa 102.9% 2022 up 2.9% flat
57 Togo 102.6% 2015 up 14.9% flat
58 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 102.3% 2022 up 16.9% rising
59 Netherlands 101.7% 2022 up 2.4% flat
60 Serbia 101.5% 2023 up 9.0% rising
61 Bhutan 101.2% 2023 down 4.4% rising
62 Belize 101.1% 2022 down 2.8% flat
63 Mauritius 101.0% 2024 up 9.0% flat
64 Brazil 100.8% 2021 up 14.7% rising
65 Kiribati 100.8% 2022 down 10.5% falling
66 Indonesia 100.8% 2024 up 4.5% flat
67 Ecuador 100.7% 2022 down 4.7% flat
68 Australia 100.6% 2023 down 4.1% falling
69 Rwanda 100.6% 2024 up 9.7% rising
70 Chile 100.6% 2022 down 2.1% rising
71 New Caledonia 100.5% 2018 down 8.3% falling
72 Eswatini 100.1% 2023 up 14.0% flat
73 Georgia 100.1% 2023 up 8.0% falling
74 Laos 100.0% 2017 down 7.4% falling
75 Mozambique 100.0% 2023 down 6.9% flat
76 Honduras 99.9% 2021 down 5.5% flat
77 Congo 99.9% 2018 up 3.2% falling
78 Algeria 99.8% 2019 up 25.2% rising
79 Moldova 99.5% 2024 down 0.8% flat
80 Morocco 99.5% 2024 down 3.9% flat
81 Ethiopia 99.4% 2024 down 2.0% flat
82 Oman 99.4% 2023 down 8.8% falling
83 Kyrgyzstan 99.4% 2023 up 14.6% falling
84 Uganda 99.2% 2022 up 6.5% falling
85 Greenland 99.2% 2020 down 29.3% falling
86 Switzerland 98.8% 2019 down 1.0% falling
87 India 98.7% 2024 up 5.4% flat
88 Liberia 98.6% 2023 up 19.0% rising
89 China 98.1% 2024 down 2.6% flat
90 Vietnam 98.1% 2023 down 12.3% falling
91 Myanmar 98.0% 2018 down 9.8% falling
92 Marshall Islands 97.9% 2019 down 8.2% falling
93 Kazakhstan 97.8% 2024 down 7.1% falling
94 Uruguay 97.8% 2021 down 6.5% falling
95 Thailand 97.6% 2024 down 3.1% flat
96 Cote d'Ivoire 97.3% 2016 down 0.4% flat
96 Jordan 97.3% 2023 up 2.6% flat
98 Benin 97.3% 2018 up 4.4% rising
99 Armenia 97.1% 2023 down 2.1% flat
100 Solomon Islands 96.8% 2019 up 6.1% flat
100 Tanzania 96.8% 2024 down 9.7% falling
102 Saint Lucia 96.7% 2022 up 9.9% rising
103 Egypt 96.7% 2022 up 12.3% flat
104 Democratic Republic of Congo 96.5% 2023 up 60.4% flat
105 Senegal 96.5% 2017 up 2.2% rising
106 North Macedonia 96.4% 2024 up 4.5% flat
107 Poland 96.3% 2024 up 0.2% rising
108 Burkina Faso 95.8% 2016 down 0.2% falling
109 Tonga 95.6% 2022 down 1.6% falling
110 Costa Rica 95.6% 2021 down 2.7% flat
111 Antigua and Barbuda 95.5% 2019 up 29.6% rising
112 Lebanon 95.3% 2020 up 16.2% rising
113 Chad 95.0% 2017 down 7.7% falling
114 Mongolia 94.9% 2023 up 2.0% flat
115 Croatia 94.8% 2022 down 6.0% flat
116 Cambodia 94.7% 2020 down 8.5% flat
117 Turks and Caicos Islands 94.3% 2022 down 9.6% falling
118 Fiji 94.2% 2024 down 0.2% falling
119 Vanuatu 94.1% 2022 down 1.2% falling
120 Philippines 93.8% 2018 down 9.5% falling
121 Russia 93.7% 2022 down 8.0% flat
122 Palau 92.8% 2022 down 5.4% falling
123 Sao Tome and Principe 92.6% 2022 down 19.1% falling
124 Gabon 92.2% 2020 down 21.6% falling
125 Dominica 92.1% 2022 down 18.2% falling
126 Sri Lanka 92.0% 2023 down 1.6% flat
127 Peru 91.6% 2022 down 1.0% falling
128 Palestine 91.2% 2024 down 11.5% flat
129 Bosnia and Herzegovina 91.1% 2022 down 7.2% falling
130 Pakistan 91.1% 2024 down 6.9% falling
131 Mauritania 91.0% 2018 down 15.2% falling
132 Seychelles 90.8% 2023 down 4.5% falling
133 Paraguay 89.9% 2021 up 25.7% flat
134 Kuwait 89.8% 2024 down 0.2% flat
135 Finland 89.2% 2022 down 16.8% falling
136 Colombia 89.0% 2022 down 6.4% flat
137 Niue 88.9% 2019 down 7.0% falling
138 Panama 87.9% 2021 down 12.2% falling
139 Botswana 87.2% 2023 down 29.5% rising
140 Kenya 86.2% 2024 down 8.1% falling
141 Guinea 85.9% 2016 down 9.3% falling
142 Bulgaria 85.9% 2024 up 2.8% flat
143 Samoa 84.4% 2021 down 18.4% falling
144 Niger 83.2% 2021 up 26.3% rising
145 Bangladesh 83.2% 2023 down 8.4% falling
146 Suriname 82.7% 2020 down 1.4% rising
147 Bolivia 82.7% 2022 down 22.9% falling
148 Cape Verde 82.5% 2016 down 10.9% falling
149 Mali 79.8% 2018 down 5.7% flat
150 Comoros 79.5% 2022 down 27.6% falling
151 Haiti 78.9% 2022 up 70.3% falling
152 Somalia 78.5% 2023 down 3.5% rising
153 East Timor 78.4% 2024 down 12.2% falling
154 Iraq 78.2% 2023 down 9.2% falling
155 Nepal 77.7% 2024 down 7.7% falling
156 Sudan 76.4% 2022 down 23.8% rising
157 Angola 73.5% 2023 down 13.5% flat
158 Lesotho 72.3% 2022 up 0.3% falling
159 Guinea-Bissau 69.5% 2017 down 48.8% falling
160 Guatemala 66.6% 2021 down 34.4% falling
161 Gambia 63.2% 2021 down 39.5% falling
162 Madagascar 60.6% 2024 down 35.4% falling
163 Afghanistan 48.7% 2021 down 30.3% rising
164 Cameroon 42.6% 2024 down 56.9% falling
165 Nigeria 37.8% 2024 down 56.9% falling

About this data

Indicator
Primary government spending as a share of original budget
Unit
%
Source
World Bank – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
165 places, 2,352 data points, 2004–2024
Last refreshed

Primary government expenditures as a proportion of original approved budget (%)