Belize: Expense (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2017, Belize's expense (% of GDP) rose 1.07 percentage points on 2016 (from 21.27% to 22.34%).

Across the 26 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2016), the average change was +0.34 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.14 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 3.01 percentage points in 2004 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.75 percentage points in 1995. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2008 to 2017 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.31 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 52% 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.

Closest to Belize in the 2017 ranking

• Afghanistan — 1st of 4: 39.22%
• St. Vincent and the Grenadines — 2nd of 4: 24.73%
• St. Lucia — 4th of 4: 17.61%

What this measures

Expense is a decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction. 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.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

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

All 28 values

Expense (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Argentina — 21.01% (2023)
• Bahamas, The — 20.35% (2023)
• Barbados — 28.77% (2016)
• Brazil — 32.43% (2023)
• Chile — 24.56% (2023)
• Colombia — 33.28% (2023)
• Costa Rica — 28.57% (2023)
• Dominican Republic — 18.07% (2023)
• Ecuador — 30.44% (2022)
• El Salvador — 27.92% (2023)
• Guatemala — 13.51% (2023)
• Honduras — 24.39% (2020)

More public sector data for Belize

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 33.32 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 66.63 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1% (2025)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 2,000 (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 1.32% (2020)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (current LCU) — 148.91 million (2017)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 3.29% (2017)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (current LCU) — -52.73 million (2017)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) — -1.16% (2017)
• Grants and other revenue (current LCU)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Belize's expense (% of GDP)?

22.34% in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is up 9.79 percentage points from 12.56% in 1990. The highest value was 22.34% in 2017 and the lowest 12.56% in 1990.

Is the latest change in expense (% of GDP) unusual for Belize?

In 2017, Belize's expense (% of GDP) rose 1.07 percentage points on 2016 (from 21.27% to 22.34%). Across the 26 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2016), the average change was +0.34 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.14 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Development Indicators, World Bank (WB); National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Development Indicators, 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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