Government spending per capita in Canada

Canada: Government spending per capita was 29,521 current international-$ in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
29,521 current international-$
Change on year
up 6.8%
World rank
17th
of 43 countries
All-time high
29,521 current international-$
in 2024
All-time low
15,569 current international-$
in 2007
Years of data
18
2007–2024

Government spending per capita in Canada, 2007–2024

010.0k20.0k30.0k2007201520242007: 15.6k current international-$2008: 16.0k current international-$2009: 17.2k current international-$2010: 17.6k current international-$2011: 17.7k current international-$2012: 17.6k current international-$2013: 18.1k current international-$2014: 17.9k current international-$2015: 18.2k current international-$2016: 19.3k current international-$2017: 19.9k current international-$2018: 20.7k current international-$2019: 20.9k current international-$2020: 25.9k current international-$2021: 26.4k current international-$2022: 26.5k current international-$2023: 27.6k current international-$2024: 29.5k current international-$

Source: OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in current international-$.

Analysis

Canada recorded 29,521 current international-$ for government spending per capita in 2024. That is the highest value across all 18 years on record.

That represents a change of up 6.8% on the previous year and up 64.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government spending per capita in Canada peaked at 29,521 current international-$ in 2024 and was at its lowest, 15,569 current international-$, in 2007.

Canada ranks 17th of 43 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 16,254 current international-$ 15,569 current international-$ 17,210 current international-$ 3
2010s 18,802 current international-$ 17,607 current international-$ 20,909 current international-$ 10
2020s 27,172 current international-$ 25,866 current international-$ 29,521 current international-$ 5

Countries ranked near Canada

  1. 15 Italy 31,377 current international-$ compare
  2. 16 Australia 29,639 current international-$ compare
  3. 18 United Kingdom 29,093 current international-$ compare
  4. 19 Slovenia 26,764 current international-$ compare
  5. 20 Spain 26,400 current international-$ compare

See the full ranking of 43 places →

More reference data data for Canada

All data for Canada →

Frequently asked questions

What is government spending per capita in Canada?
Government spending per capita in Canada was 29,521 current international-$ in 2024, according to OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest government spending per capita recorded in Canada?
The highest recorded value was 29,521 current international-$ in 2024.
What is the lowest government spending per capita recorded in Canada?
The lowest recorded value was 15,569 current international-$ in 2007.
How does Canada rank for government spending per capita?
Canada ranks 17th out of 43 countries with data for 2024.
Is government spending per capita rising or falling in Canada?
Over the last ten years it is up 64.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Canada data come from?
The figures come from OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Government spending per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Government spending per capita
Unit
current international-$
Source
OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
43 places, 757 data points, 2007–2024
Last refreshed

The total amount of money the general government spends per capita. This data is adjusted for differences in living costs between countries but not for inflation.