Panama: Gross national expenditure (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Panama's gross national expenditure (% of GDP) fell 2.13 percentage points on 2023 (from 97.09% to 94.96%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.44 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.22 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 8.61 percentage points in 1989 and the biggest yearly fall was 13.68 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 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.75 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 82% 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.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 92.65% for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.64%, against 0.88% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2024, Panama had the 29th highest value of the 37 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 Panama in the 2024 ranking

• Ghana — 25th of 37: 97.68%
• China — 26th of 37: 97.16%
• Faroe Islands — 27th of 37: 96.64%
• Aruba — 29th of 37: 92.79%
• Kazakhstan — 30th of 37: 90.28%
• Angola — 31st of 37: 88.09%

What this measures

Gross national expenditure is the sum of household final consumption expenditure, general government final consumption expenditure, and gross 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.

All 65 values

Gross national expenditure (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Argentina — 101.02% (2025)
• Aruba — 92.79% (2024)
• Bahamas, The — 104.02% (2024)
• Belize — 100.02% (2024)
• Bolivia — 104.11% (2024)
• Brazil — 99.65% (2025)
• Chile — 95.86% (2025)
• Colombia — 105.4% (2025)
• Costa Rica — 93.79% (2025)
• Cuba — 139.92% (2024)
• Curaçao

More economic policy & debt data for Panama

• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$6.24 billion (2025)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$6.24 billion (2025)
• Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices (current US$) — US$88.24 billion (2025)
• Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices (current LCU) — 88.24 billion (2025)
• GDP (current US$) — US$90.46 billion (2025)
• GDP (current LCU) — 90.46 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$80.68 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant LCU) — 84.75 billion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$19,790 (2025)
• GDP per capita (current LCU) — 19,790 (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Panama's gross national expenditure (% of GDP)?

94.96% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is down 6.4 percentage points from 101.36% in 1960. The highest value was 112.42% in 1995 and the lowest 93.9% in 1988.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NE.DAB.TOTL.ZS, 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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