Arab World: Claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, Arab World's claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) rose 5.38 percentage points on 2017 (from 10.3% to 15.68%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1988 to 2017), the average change was −0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.51 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 10.27 percentage points in 1986 and the biggest yearly fall was 9.29 percentage points in 1974. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2009 to 2018 the straight-line trend is upward, about 3.1 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 85% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

Claims on central government include loans to central government institutions net of deposits. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 59 values

Claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — -8.32% (2020)
• Algeria — 42.42% (2025)
• Bahrain — 16.44% (2015)
• Djibouti — 6.23% (2025)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 48.18% (2025)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 8.16% (2016)
• Iraq — 7.17% (2024)
• Israel — 13.18% (2025)
• Jordan — 27.03% (2025)
• Kuwait — -16.91% (2025)

More financial sector data for Arab World

• Inflation, GDP deflator (annual % growth) — 2.7% (2025)
• Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) — 53.98% (2025)
• Monetary sector credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 51.74% (2017)
• Broad money (% of GDP) — 80.73% (2017)
• Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 53.31% (2017)
• Inflation, consumer prices (annual % growth) — 1.77% (2025)
• Stocks traded, turnover ratio of domestic shares (%) — 22.53% (2024)
• Bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%) — 10.98% (2025)
• Listed domestic companies, total — 1,487 (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Arab World's claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP)?

15.68% in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is up 7.69 percentage points from 7.98% in 1960. The highest value was 18.92% in 1993 and the lowest -17.26% in 1982.

Is the latest change in claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) unusual for Arab World?

In 2018, Arab World's claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) rose 5.38 percentage points on 2017 (from 10.3% to 15.68%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1988 to 2017), the average change was −0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.51 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator FS.AST.CGOV.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Development Indicators Database, World Bank (WB); National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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