Euro area: Expense (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, Euro area's expense (% of GDP) fell 1.76 percentage points on 2021 (from 41.79% to 40.03%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was +0.17 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.84 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 5.97 percentage points in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.54 percentage points in 1996. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 15% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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

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 51 values

Expense (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 39.22% (2017)
• Bahrain — 26.11% (2020)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 30.23% (2015)
• Israel — 37.35% (2023)
• Jordan — 25.89% (2023)
• Lebanon — 6.3% (2021)
• Malta — 33.67% (2023)
• Morocco — 26.61% (2023)
• Saudi Arabia — 24.22% (2023)
• United Arab Emirates — 3.77% (2023)
• West Bank and Gaza — 26.17% (2021)

More public sector data for Euro area

• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 6.08 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current USD) — 360.6 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 2.01% (2025)
• Arms exports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 8.17 billion (2025)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 1.48% (2024)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) — -2.74% (2024)
• Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP) — 36.13% (2024)
• Tax revenue (% of GDP) — 19.22% (2024)
• Grants and other revenue (% of revenue) — 9.87% (2024)
• Social contributions (% of revenue)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Euro area's expense (% of GDP)?

40.03% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1972?

It is up 16.98 percentage points from 23.05% in 1972. The highest value was 43.96% in 1995 and the lowest 23.05% in 1972.

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

In 2022, Euro area's expense (% of GDP) fell 1.76 percentage points on 2021 (from 41.79% to 40.03%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was +0.17 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.84 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

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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