Central African Republic: Goods and services expense (% of expense)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Central African Republic's goods and services expense (% of expense) fell 9.81 percentage points on 2020 (from 41.51% to 31.7%).

Across the 10 yearly changes before that (2009 to 2020), the average change was +3.76 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 13.57 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 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 23.54 percentage points in 2009 and the biggest yearly fall was 24.94 percentage points in 2012. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 the straight-line trend is upward, about 2.29 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 52% of the movement over 9 observed years.

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

How it compares

In 2021, Central African Republic had the 2nd highest value of the 13 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 Central African Republic in the 2021 ranking

• Cameroon — 1st of 13: 33.62%
• Congo, Rep. — 3rd of 13: 27.07%
• Zambia — 4th of 13: 25.36%
• Peru — 5th of 13: 19.59%

What this measures

Goods and services include all government payments in exchange for goods and services used for the production of market and nonmarket goods and services. Use of goods and services for own account capital formation is excluded. 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

Goods and services expense (% of expense) in nearby economies

• Angola — 29.36% (2019)
• Botswana — 28.41% (2023)
• Burkina Faso — 9.69% (2023)
• Burundi — 17.8% (2021)
• Cabo Verde — 20.46% (2020)
• Cameroon — 33.62% (2021)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 27.48% (2022)
• Congo, Rep. — 27.07% (2021)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 16.21% (2023)
• Equatorial Guinea — 25.39% (2022)

More public sector data for Central African Republic

• Armed forces personnel, total — 10,000 (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.54% (2020)
• Military expenditure (current USD) — 74.19 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 43.14 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 2.33% (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 12.46% (2025)
• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 43 million (2023)
• CPIA business regulatory environment rating (1=low to 6=high) — 2 (2025)
• CPIA debt policy rating (1=low to 6=high)

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 Central African Republic's goods and services expense (% of expense)?

31.7% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2004?

It is up 5.04 percentage points from 26.66% in 2004. The highest value was 57.91% in 2010 and the lowest 8.2% in 2014.

How does Central African Republic rank?

2nd highest of 13 economies with data for 2021.

Is the latest change in goods and services expense (% of expense) unusual for Central African Republic?

In 2021, Central African Republic's goods and services expense (% of expense) fell 9.81 percentage points on 2020 (from 41.51% to 31.7%). Across the 10 yearly changes before that (2009 to 2020), the average change was +3.76 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 13.57 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.XPN.GSRV.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.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.