Japan: General government final consumption expenditure (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Japan's general government final consumption expenditure (current US$) fell 4.2% on 2023 (from US$881.12 billion to US$844.05 billion).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +1.4% and a typical year strayed about 9.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 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 47.8% in 1986 and the biggest yearly fall was 17.2% 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 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 3% 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

In 2024, Japan had the 4th highest value of the 35 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 Japan in the 2024 ranking

• United States — 1st of 35: US$3.99 trillion
• China — 2nd of 35: US$3.13 trillion
• Iraq — 4th of 35: US$62.03 billion
• New Zealand — 5th of 35: US$55.07 billion
• Kuwait — 6th of 35: US$41.5 billion

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 in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This indicator is expressed in United States dollars.

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 gap-filled total.

All 55 values

General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) in nearby economies

• Australia — US$416.34 billion (2025)
• Brunei Darussalam — US$3.58 billion (2025)
• Cambodia — US$2.9 billion (2025)
• China — US$3.13 trillion (2024)
• Fiji — US$1.13 billion (2024)
• French Polynesia — US$2.02 billion (2024)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — US$53.72 billion (2025)
• Indonesia — US$108.89 billion (2025)
• Kiribati

More economic policy & debt data for Japan

• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$1.37 trillion (2025)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$1.25 trillion (2025)
• GDP (current US$) — US$4.44 trillion (2025)
• GDP (current LCU) — 663.76 trillion (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$4.76 trillion (2025)
• GDP (constant LCU) — 591.22 trillion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$35,951 (2025)
• GDP per capita (current LCU) — 5.38 million (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$38,619 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant LCU) — 4.79 million (2025)
• GNI (current US$)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Japan's general government final consumption expenditure (current US$)?

US$844.05 billion in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 3,475% from US$23.61 billion in 1970 (6.85% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$1.25 trillion in 2012 and the lowest US$23.61 billion in 1970.

How does Japan rank?

4th highest of 35 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in general government final consumption expenditure (current US$) unusual for Japan?

In 2024, Japan's general government final consumption expenditure (current US$) fell 4.2% on 2023 (from US$881.12 billion to US$844.05 billion). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +1.4% and a typical year strayed about 9.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 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 NE.CON.GOVT.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); 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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