Botswana: Subsidies and other transfers (% of expense)

Key figures

Over five years it is down 0.36 percentage points from 17.26% in 2018. Since 1990 it is down 14.94 percentage points from 31.84% in 1990. The World Bank has no value for 20 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2023, Botswana's subsidies and other transfers (% of expense) rose 9.8 percentage points on 2022 (from 7.1% to 16.9%).

Across the 11 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2022), the average change was −0.47 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.61 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.8 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 9.8 percentage points in 2023 and the biggest yearly fall was 10.08 percentage points in 2022. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

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

How it compares

In 2023, Botswana had the 74th highest value of the 79 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Botswana in the 2023 ranking

• Dominican Republic — 71st of 79: 20.89%
• Vanuatu — 72nd of 79: 17.81%
• Kenya — 73rd of 79: 17.43%
• Costa Rica — 75th of 79: 14.92%
• Denmark — 76th of 79: 13.34%
• Saudi Arabia — 77th of 79: 11.27%

What this measures

Subsidies are current unrequited payments that government units, including nonresident government units, make to enterprises on the basis of the levels of their production activities or the quantities or values of the goods or services that they produce, sell, export or import. This indicator is expressed as percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.

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 median.

All 14 values

Subsidies and other transfers (% of expense) in nearby economies

• Angola — 19.62% (2019)
• Burkina Faso — 35.07% (2023)
• Burundi — 26.31% (2021)
• Cabo Verde — 28.21% (2020)
• Cameroon — 23.49% (2021)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 10.72% (2022)
• Congo, Rep. — 32.92% (2021)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 43.56% (2023)
• Equatorial Guinea — 15.33% (2022)
• Eswatini

More public sector data for Botswana

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 614.35 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 8.34 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 3.11% (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 8.94% (2025)
• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 11 million (2024)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 9,000 (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.92% (2020)
• Expense (current LCU) — 69.39 billion (2024)
• Expense (% of GDP) — 26.53% (2024)
• Net acquisition of financial assets (current LCU)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Botswana's subsidies and other transfers (% of expense)?

16.9% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is down 14.94 percentage points from 31.84% in 1990. The highest value was 38.22% in 1996 and the lowest 7.1% in 2022.

How does Botswana rank?

74th highest of 79 economies with data for 2023.

Is the latest change in subsidies and other transfers (% of expense) unusual for Botswana?

In 2023, Botswana's subsidies and other transfers (% of expense) rose 9.8 percentage points on 2022 (from 7.1% to 16.9%). Across the 11 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2022), the average change was −0.47 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.61 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.8 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

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