East Asia & Pacific: Compensation of employees (% of expense)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, East Asia & Pacific's compensation of employees (% of expense) rose 0.82 percentage points on 2021 (from 20.36% to 21.18%).

Across the 14 yearly changes before that (2003 to 2021), the average change was −0.34 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.79 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 2.7 percentage points in 2010 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.72 percentage points in 2020. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2013 to 2022 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.51 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 64% 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

Compensation of employees is defined as the total remuneration, in cash or in kind, payable by an enterprise to an employee in return for work done by the latter during the accounting period. 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 17 values

Compensation of employees (% of expense) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 33.95% (2017)
• Bahrain — 39.5% (2020)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 27.2% (2015)
• Israel — 22.43% (2023)
• Jordan — 46% (2023)
• Lebanon — 32.12% (2021)
• Malta — 26.9% (2023)
• Morocco — 38.54% (2023)
• Saudi Arabia — 48.55% (2023)
• United Arab Emirates — 32.16% (2023)

More public sector data for East Asia & Pacific

• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 5.83 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.72% (2025)
• Military expenditure (current USD) — 563.27 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 5.44% (2024)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 7.91 million (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.64% (2020)
• Grants and other revenue (% of revenue) — 17.76% (2023)
• Taxes on goods and services (% of revenue) — 25.31% (2023)
• Taxes on income, profits and capital gains (% of revenue)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is East Asia & Pacific's compensation of employees (% of expense)?

21.18% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2002?

It is down 6.16 percentage points from 27.34% in 2002. The highest value was 30.39% in 2010 and the lowest 20.36% in 2021.

Is the latest change in compensation of employees (% of expense) unusual for East Asia & Pacific?

In 2022, East Asia & Pacific's compensation of employees (% of expense) rose 0.82 percentage points on 2021 (from 20.36% to 21.18%). Across the 14 yearly changes before that (2003 to 2021), the average change was −0.34 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.79 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?

Source

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