Maldives: Subsidies and other transfers (% of expense)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Maldives' subsidies and other transfers (% of expense) rose 1.83 percentage points on 2020 (from 26.88% to 28.71%).

Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was +0.4 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.67 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 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 7.32 percentage points in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 4.91 percentage points in 2019. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2021 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 16% of the movement over 8 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 2021, Maldives had the 8th highest value of the 12 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 Maldives in the 2021 ranking

• Peru — 4th of 12: 45.09%
• Bangladesh — 5th of 12: 34.12%
• Congo, Rep. — 6th of 12: 32.92%
• Burundi — 8th of 12: 26.31%
• Eswatini — 9th of 12: 25%
• Cameroon — 10th of 12: 23.49%

What this measures

Subsidies are current unrequited payments that government units, including nonresident government units, make to enterprises on the basis of the levels of their production activities or the quantities or values of the goods or services that they produce, sell, export or import. 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 30 values

Subsidies and other transfers (% of expense) in nearby economies

• Bangladesh — 34.12% (2021)
• Bhutan — 15.88% (2020)
• India — 42.52% (2022)
• Nepal — 77.19% (2021)
• Sri Lanka — 20.96% (2023)

More public sector data for Maldives

• Grants and other revenue (current LCU) — 5.92 billion (2021)
• Grants and other revenue (% of revenue) — 27.37% (2021)
• Revenue, excluding grants (current LCU) — 20.01 billion (2021)
• Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP) — 24.78% (2021)
• Taxes on goods and services (current LCU) — 9.14 billion (2021)
• Taxes on goods and services (% of revenue) — 42.27% (2021)
• Customs and other import duties (current LCU) — 2.84 billion (2021)
• Customs and other import duties (% of tax revenue) — 18.06% (2021)
• Taxes on international trade (current LCU) — 3.83 billion (2021)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Maldives's subsidies and other transfers (% of expense)?

28.71% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is up 27.16 percentage points from 1.56% in 1990. The highest value was 28.71% in 2021 and the lowest 0.98% in 1993.

How does Maldives rank?

8th highest of 12 economies with data for 2021.

Is the latest change in subsidies and other transfers (% of expense) unusual for Maldives?

In 2021, Maldives' subsidies and other transfers (% of expense) rose 1.83 percentage points on 2020 (from 26.88% to 28.71%). Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was +0.4 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.67 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 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 GC.XPN.TRFT.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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