Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in Tonga

Tonga: Wage bill as a percentage of GDP was 14.6% in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
14.6%
Change on year
down 1.7%
World rank
16th
of 191 countries
All-time high
16.1%
in 2006
All-time low
10.0%
in 2004
Years of data
23
2000–2022

Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in Tonga, 2000–2022

0510152000201120222000: 11.12001: 11.82002: 11.52003: 10.32004: 102005: 10.32006: 16.12007: 14.42008: 11.42009: 12.52010: 12.72011: 13.32012: 11.42013: 12.12014: 12.72015: 14.72016: 13.72017: 12.72018: 11.92019: 11.62020: 13.32021: 14.92022: 14.6

Source: World Bank.

Analysis

Tonga recorded 14.6% for wage bill as a percentage of gdp in 2022.

That represents a change of down 1.7% on the previous year and up 28.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, wage bill as a percentage of gdp in Tonga peaked at 16.1% in 2006 and was at its lowest, 10.0%, in 2004.

That places Tonga 16th out of 191 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.

Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in Tonga, year by year

Annual values for Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in Tonga, 2000 to 2022.
Year Value Change
2000 11.1% —
2001 11.8% +6.3%
2002 11.5% -3.1%
2003 10.3% -10.2%
2004 10.0% -2.9%
2005 10.3% +2.9%
2006 16.1% +56.4%
2007 14.4% -10.8%
2008 11.4% -20.7%
2009 12.5% +9.9%
2010 12.7% +1.2%
2011 13.3% +4.8%
2012 11.4% -14.1%
2013 12.1% +6.5%
2014 12.7% +4.7%
2015 14.7% +15.5%
2016 13.7% -7.1%
2017 12.7% -6.7%
2018 11.9% -6.6%
2019 11.6% -2.7%
2020 13.3% +14.8%
2021 14.9% +11.9%
2022 14.6% -1.7%

Tonga compared with similar countries

  • Tonga's 14.6% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 8.4%, 1.7× the median. (57 countries reporting)
  • Tonga's 14.6% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 8.6%, 1.7× the median. (30 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 11.9% 10.0% 16.1% 10
2010s 12.7% 11.4% 14.7% 10
2020s 14.3% 13.3% 14.9% 3

Countries ranked near Tonga

  1. 13 Iceland 14.9% compare
  2. 14 Kyrgyzstan 14.7% compare
  3. 15 Namibia 14.7% compare
  4. 17 Mozambique 14.5% compare
  5. 18 Denmark 14.4% compare
  6. 19 Botswana 13.9% compare

See the full ranking of 191 places →

More reference data data for Tonga

All data for Tonga →

Frequently asked questions

What is wage bill as a percentage of gdp in Tonga?
Wage bill as a percentage of gdp in Tonga was 14.6% in 2022, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest wage bill as a percentage of gdp recorded in Tonga?
The highest recorded value was 16.1% in 2006.
What is the lowest wage bill as a percentage of gdp recorded in Tonga?
The lowest recorded value was 10.0% in 2004.
How does Tonga rank for wage bill as a percentage of gdp?
Tonga ranks 16th out of 191 countries with data for 2022.
Is wage bill as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Tonga?
Over the last ten years it is up 28.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Tonga data come from?
The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Wage bill as a percentage of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Wage bill as a percentage of GDP in Tonga. Statizoid. Retrieved 29 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/wage-bill-as-a-percentage-of-gdp/tonga/

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About this data

Indicator
Wage bill as a percentage of GDP
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
191 places, 4,127 data points, 2000–2022
Last refreshed