Timor-Leste: General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Timor-Leste's general government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) rose 7.65 percentage points on 2023 (from 52.92% to 60.57%).

Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was −3.5 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 16.95 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 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 29.78 percentage points in 2006 and the biggest yearly fall was 45.47 percentage points in 2003. 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 11% 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, Timor-Leste had the 1st highest value of the 36 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 Timor-Leste in the 2024 ranking

• Kiribati — 2nd of 36: 59.02%
• Marshall Islands — 3rd of 36: 54.53%
• Palau — 4th of 36: 38.3%

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 25 values

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

• Australia — 23.15% (2025)
• Brunei Darussalam — 23.81% (2025)
• Cambodia — 5.65% (2025)
• China — 16.71% (2024)
• Fiji — 18.9% (2024)
• French Polynesia — 32.01% (2024)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 12.57% (2025)
• Indonesia — 7.53% (2025)
• Japan — 20.14% (2024)

More economic policy & debt data for Timor-Leste

• Short-term debt (% of total external debt) — 0.43% (2024)
• IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, current US$) — −US$750,000 (2024)
• Adjusted savings, education expenditure (% of GNI) — 3.19% (2021)
• Adjusted savings, mineral depletion (current US$) — US$0 (2021)
• Grants, excluding technical cooperation (BoP, current US$) — US$221.69 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance and official aid received (current US$) — US$259.94 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance and official aid received (constant 2023 US$) — US$259.94 million (2023)
• Net official development assistance received (current US$) — US$259.94 million (2023)

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 Timor-Leste's general government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP)?

60.57% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is down 72.75 percentage points from 133.32% in 2000. The highest value was 147.74% in 2002 and the lowest 28.19% in 2021.

How does Timor-Leste rank?

1st highest of 36 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in general government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) unusual for Timor-Leste?

In 2024, Timor-Leste's general government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) rose 7.65 percentage points on 2023 (from 52.92% to 60.57%). Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was −3.5 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 16.95 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 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.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.