Côte d'Ivoire: Expense (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Côte d'Ivoire's expense (% of GDP) fell 0.53 percentage points on 2022 (from 18.41% to 17.88%).

Across the 21 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2022), the average change was +0.48 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.37 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 standard deviations below 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 4.24 percentage points in 2015 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.39 percentage points in 2013. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.79 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 81% 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.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 20.41% for 2026. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2021 to 2023 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.81%, against 1.53% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2023, Côte d'Ivoire had the 68th highest value of the 80 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 Côte d'Ivoire in the 2023 ranking

• Dominican Republic — 65th of 80: 18.07%
• Sri Lanka — 66th of 80: 18.04%
• Rwanda — 67th of 80: 17.97%
• Kazakhstan — 69th of 80: 17.45%
• Singapore — 70th of 80: 17.11%
• Malaysia — 71st of 80: 17.01%

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 23 values

Expense (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Angola — 14.57% (2019)
• Botswana — 26.53% (2024)
• Burkina Faso — 19.58% (2023)
• Burundi — 12.26% (2021)
• Cabo Verde — 30.88% (2020)
• Cameroon — 12.42% (2021)
• Central African Republic — 11.66% (2021)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 12.45% (2022)
• Congo, Rep. — 16.13% (2021)
• Equatorial Guinea — 11.05% (2022)
• Eswatini — 24.62% (2021)
• Ethiopia — 6.12% (2023)

More public sector data for Côte d'Ivoire

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 759.44 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 441.6 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 0.77% (2025)
• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 15 million (2025)
• Taxes on exports (current LCU) — 995.2 billion (2023)
• Taxes on exports (% of tax revenue) — 15.58% (2023)
• Taxes on goods and services (current LCU) — 2.44 trillion (2023)
• Taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) — 6.54% (2023)
• Customs and other import duties (current LCU) — 756.49 billion (2023)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Côte d'Ivoire's expense (% of GDP)?

17.88% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2001?

It is up 9.59 percentage points from 8.29% in 2001. The highest value was 18.41% in 2022 and the lowest 8.29% in 2001.

How does Côte d'Ivoire rank?

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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