Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD): General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD)'s general government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) rose 0.34 percentage points on 2024 (from 17.88% to 18.23%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.03 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.87 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 3.36 percentage points in 1993 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.91 percentage points in 1991. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.17 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 45% 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

Final consumption expenditure is expenditure on goods and services by resident institutional units for the direct satisfaction of human needs or wants, whether individual or collective. General government FCE includes all government current expenditures for purchases of goods and services (including compensation of employees), and most expenditures on national defense and security, but excludes government military expenditures that are part of government capital formation. 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: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 37 values

General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Algeria — 18.28% (2025)
• Bahrain — 14.08% (2024)
• Djibouti — 15.03% (2025)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 5.45% (2025)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 13.29% (2025)
• Iraq — 22.18% (2024)
• Israel — 24.97% (2025)
• Kuwait — 25.79% (2024)
• Lebanon — 4.9% (2024)

More economic policy & debt data for Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD)

• Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) — US$82.98 billion (2025)
• Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$) — US$19.58 billion (2025)
• Portfolio equity, net inflows (BoP, current US$) — −US$186.92 million (2025)
• Net financial flows, IBRD (NFL, current US$) — US$5.92 billion (2024)
• Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$) — US$5.2 billion (2024)
• IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, current US$) — US$960.06 million (2024)
• Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Austria (current US$) — US$227.32 million (2022)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD)'s general government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP)?

18.23% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1989?

It is down 3.15 percentage points from 21.38% in 1989. The highest value was 21.86% in 1990 and the lowest 15.29% in 2000.

Is the latest change in general government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) unusual for Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD)?

In 2025, Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD)'s general government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) rose 0.34 percentage points on 2024 (from 17.88% to 18.23%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.03 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.87 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations above 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 NE.CON.GOVT.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Offices (NSOs); National Accounts data files, Central Banks; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) 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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