South Asia: Subsidies and other transfers (% of expense)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, South Asia's subsidies and other transfers (% of expense) fell 1.82 percentage points on 2021 (from 34.12% to 32.3%).

Across the 28 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2021), the average change was +0.19 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.72 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 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 2.78 percentage points in 2009 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.42 percentage points in 2014. 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 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.43 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 34% 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

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 31 values

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

• Afghanistan — 10.5% (2017)
• Bahrain — 30.07% (2020)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 37.21% (2015)
• Israel — 42.37% (2023)
• Jordan — 25.8% (2023)
• Lebanon — 47.18% (2021)
• Malta — 35.23% (2023)
• Morocco — 35.25% (2023)
• Saudi Arabia — 11.27% (2023)
• United Arab Emirates — 22.43% (2023)

More public sector data for South Asia

• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 2.92 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current USD) — 97.7 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 2.11% (2025)
• Net acquisition of financial assets (% of GDP) — 1.47% (2022)
• Net incurrence of liabilities, total (% of GDP) — 6.88% (2022)
• Net investment in nonfinancial assets (% of GDP) — 0.95% (2022)
• Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) — -5.4% (2022)
• Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP) — 9.34% (2022)
• Tax revenue (% of GDP) — 6.95% (2022)
• Expense (% of GDP)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

32.3% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is up 2.63 percentage points from 29.67% in 1990. The highest value was 39.17% in 2018 and the lowest 23.96% in 2001.

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

In 2022, South Asia's subsidies and other transfers (% of expense) fell 1.82 percentage points on 2021 (from 34.12% to 32.3%). Across the 28 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2021), the average change was +0.19 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.72 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 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).

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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