Zimbabwe: General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Zimbabwe's general government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) rose 0.19 percentage points on 2023 (from 11.97% to 12.16%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.1 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.88 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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 8.04 percentage points in 1992 and the biggest yearly fall was 9.33 percentage points in 2006. 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 19% 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, Zimbabwe had the 31st 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 Zimbabwe in the 2024 ranking

• Zambia — 28th of 36: 12.68%
• Panama — 29th of 36: 12.4%
• Turkmenistan — 30th of 36: 12.35%
• Tajikistan — 32nd of 36: 11.3%
• Kazakhstan — 33rd of 36: 10.79%
• Bermuda — 34th of 36: 10.72%

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 65 values

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

• Angola — 15.78% (2024)
• Benin — 8.87% (2025)
• Botswana — 31.48% (2025)
• Burkina Faso — 17.81% (2025)
• Burundi — 20.64% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 22.86% (2025)
• Cameroon — 11.15% (2025)
• Central African Republic — 10.31% (2025)
• Chad — 9.9% (2025)

More economic policy & debt data for Zimbabwe

• Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices (current US$) — US$48.51 billion (2025)
• Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices (current LCU) — 1.54 trillion (2025)
• GDP (current US$) — US$51.22 billion (2025)
• GDP (current LCU) — 1.63 trillion (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$25.48 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant LCU) — 74.26 billion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$3,021 (2025)
• GDP per capita (current LCU) — 96,071 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$1,503 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant LCU) — 4,381 (2025)
• GNI (current US$)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Zimbabwe's general government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP)?

12.16% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is up 1.61 percentage points from 10.55% in 1960. The highest value was 27.49% in 1988 and the lowest 2.05% in 2008.

How does Zimbabwe rank?

31st highest of 36 economies with data for 2024.

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

In 2024, Zimbabwe's general government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) rose 0.19 percentage points on 2023 (from 11.97% to 12.16%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.1 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.88 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 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.

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