Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure in Italy

Italy: Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure was 18.8% in 2022. ▼ Falling

Latest (2022)
18.8%
Change on year
up 4.9%
World rank
161st
of 191 countries
All-time high
22.4%
in 2005
All-time low
17.9%
in 2021
Years of data
23
2000–2022

Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure in Italy, 2000–2022

051015202000201120222000: 21.62001: 21.62002: 22.12003: 22.32004: 22.32005: 22.42006: 22.32007: 222008: 21.92009: 21.52010: 21.72011: 21.12012: 20.42013: 20.32014: 202015: 19.72016: 202017: 19.72018: 20.12019: 19.92020: 18.42021: 17.92022: 18.8

Source: World Bank.

Analysis

The most recent figure for wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure in Italy is 18.8%, measured in 2022.

That represents a change of up 4.9% on the previous year and down 8.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure in Italy peaked at 22.4% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 17.9%, in 2021.

That places Italy 161st out of 191 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the bottom quarter.

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

Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure in Italy, year by year

Annual values for Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure in Italy, 2000 to 2022.
Year Value Change
2000 21.6%
2001 21.6% +0.2%
2002 22.1% +2.1%
2003 22.3% +0.9%
2004 22.3% +0.1%
2005 22.4% +0.7%
2006 22.3% -0.5%
2007 22.0% -1.5%
2008 21.9% -0.2%
2009 21.5% -2.1%
2010 21.7% +0.9%
2011 21.1% -2.5%
2012 20.4% -3.3%
2013 20.3% -0.7%
2014 20.0% -1.6%
2015 19.7% -1.4%
2016 20.0% +1.6%
2017 19.7% -1.2%
2018 20.1% +2.0%
2019 19.9% -1.4%
2020 18.4% -7.5%
2021 17.9% -2.5%
2022 18.8% +4.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 22.0% 21.5% 22.4% 10
2010s 20.3% 19.7% 21.7% 10
2020s 18.4% 17.9% 18.8% 3

Countries ranked near Italy

  1. 158 Syria 19.7% compare
  2. 159 Latvia 19.6% compare
  3. 160 Turkey 19.2% compare
  4. 162 Netherlands 18.6% compare
  5. 163 Guyana 18.2% compare
  6. 164 Egypt 18.1% compare

See the full ranking of 191 places →

More reference data data for Italy

All data for Italy →

Frequently asked questions

What is wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure in Italy?
Wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure in Italy was 18.8% in 2022, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure recorded in Italy?
The highest recorded value was 22.4% in 2005.
What is the lowest wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure recorded in Italy?
The lowest recorded value was 17.9% in 2021.
How does Italy rank for wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure?
Italy ranks 161st out of 191 countries with data for 2022.
Is wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure rising or falling in Italy?
Over the last ten years it is down 8.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Italy data come from?
The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure in Italy. Statizoid. Retrieved 27 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/wage-bill-as-a-percentage-of-public-expenditure/italy/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/wage-bill-as-a-percentage-of-public-expenditure/italy/">Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure in Italy</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
191 places, 4,119 data points, 2000–2022
Last refreshed