Government spending statistics show both the scale of the public sector and the choices governments make within it. Across OECD countries, general government expenditure averaged 42.6% of GDP in 2023, while the OECD average fiscal position was a deficit of 4.6% of GDP. The figures below separate spending levels, functions, transactions, investment, fiscal balances, and the U.S. federal outlook under current law.
Contents
- How government spending compares across the OECD
- Government spending by function
- Government spending by economic transaction
- Public investment and the levels of government
- Government spending, deficits, and interest costs
- The U.S. federal spending outlook
How government spending compares across the OECD
The OECD average for general government expenditures was 42.6% of GDP in 2023. That was below the 48.3% average recorded in 2020, when pandemic-era conditions pushed government spending relative to economic output higher. These are general-government figures, so they cover the public sector in the OECD comparison rather than only a central-government budget.
The longer comparison is uneven across countries. Public spending as a share of GDP fell between 2019 and 2023 in 7 of 38 OECD countries. Italy recorded the largest decrease, at 3.4 percentage points, while Hungary recorded a decrease of 2.3 percentage points. Between 2023 and 2024, the share decreased in 9 of the 28 OECD countries with 2024 data. The number of countries with available data differs between comparisons, so the two periods should not be treated as identical country panels.
Among OECD countries that are also members of the European Union, public spending averaged 49.3% of GDP in 2024. Finland recorded 57.5%, France 57.2%, and Austria 56.3%.
| Measure | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| OECD general government expenditures | 2023 | 42.6% of GDP |
| OECD general government expenditures | 2020 | 48.3% of GDP |
| OECD-EU public spending average | 2024 | 49.3% of GDP |
| Finland public spending | 2024 | 57.5% of GDP |
| France public spending | 2024 | 57.2% of GDP |
| Austria public spending | 2024 | 56.3% of GDP |
Source: General government expenditures: Government at a Glance 2025.
Government spending by function
Functional statistics describe what public money is intended to do. Social protection was the largest quantified function in the supplied OECD comparison, averaging 13.4% of GDP across OECD countries in 2023. The average was 19.3% of GDP in OECD countries that are also EU members. The United States recorded 7.9% of GDP, while Finland recorded 25.7%.
Healthcare spending averaged 8.4% of GDP across OECD countries in 2023. The OECD average was 0.5 percentage points higher in 2023 than in 2019, indicating a change over that stated period rather than a single-year level. U.S. healthcare spending was 10.1% of GDP in 2023.
Other functions were smaller as shares of GDP. Environmental-protection spending averaged 0.5% of GDP across OECD countries in 2023. Greece had the highest OECD environmental-protection spending in that year, at 1.5% of GDP. Education spending averaged 4.9% of GDP across OECD countries in 2023.
These measures are not interchangeable with the total-spending figures above. A percentage of GDP describes the size of a function relative to the economy, while total government expenditure includes many other functions and transactions.
Source: Government expenditure by function (COFOG): Government at a Glance 2025.
Government spending by economic transaction
An economic-transaction view asks how government spends money, rather than which policy function receives it. Social benefits accounted for 39.0% of total government expenditure across OECD countries in 2023. The corresponding average was 43.4% in OECD countries that are also EU members.
Country results varied substantially. Social benefits represented 51.6% of total government expenditure in Japan, compared with 19.4% in Iceland and 14.5% in Mexico in 2023. These percentages are shares of total government expenditure, not percentages of GDP, so they should not be compared directly with the function measures in the previous section.
Between 2019 and 2023, the share of expenditure devoted to social benefits increased in 7 of 37 OECD countries with available data. Mexico had the largest increase, at 2 percentage points. Italy had the largest decrease, at 5 percentage points. The available-country count and the period are part of the statistic and matter when interpreting the change.
Employee compensation averaged 20.6% of total government expenditure across OECD countries in 2023. Together, the social-benefits and employee-compensation measures illustrate why a spending total can have a very different composition from one country to another, even when countries have similar overall expenditure-to-GDP ratios.
Source: Structure of government expenditures by economic transaction: Government at a Glance 2025.
Public investment and the levels of government
Public investment averaged 3.5% of GDP across OECD countries in 2023. Estonia was at 6.8% of GDP, while Costa Rica was at 1.4%. Between 2019 and 2023, public investment as a share of GDP rose in 24 of 37 OECD countries. The average OECD increase over that period was 0.2 percentage points.
For OECD countries that are also EU members, government investment averaged 3.6% of GDP in 2024. In the broader 2023 OECD comparison, government investment represented 15.5% of total national investment and 8.2% of total government spending.
Investment responsibilities were distributed across levels of government in 2023. Central governments carried out 43% of OECD government investment on average, state governments 28%, and local governments 28%.
Economic affairs accounted for an average 33.1% of government investment spending across OECD countries in 2023. This functional share concerns investment spending specifically; it is not a claim that economic affairs represented the same share of all government expenditure.
| Public-investment measure | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| OECD public investment | 2023 | 3.5% of GDP |
| Estonia public investment | 2023 | 6.8% of GDP |
| Costa Rica public investment | 2023 | 1.4% of GDP |
| Countries where the share rose | 2019–2023 | 24 of 37 |
| OECD average change | 2019–2023 | +0.2 percentage points |
| OECD government investment share of total spending | 2023 | 8.2% |
Source: Government investment spending: Government at a Glance 2025.
Government spending, deficits, and interest costs
Spending statistics need to be read alongside fiscal-balance statistics. The average general government fiscal balance across OECD countries was a deficit of 4.6% of GDP in 2023. Six OECD countries recorded a general government fiscal surplus. Norway recorded the highest surplus, at 16.5% of GDP.
The recent historical comparison shows larger average deficits during major disruptions. The OECD average fiscal deficit reached 8.5% of GDP in 2009 during the global financial crisis and 10.2% of GDP in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those are period-specific averages and do not describe every OECD country’s result.
Net interest payments averaged 2.3% of GDP across OECD countries in 2023. Interest costs are reported separately from the primary fiscal balance, which excludes net interest payments. The average OECD primary fiscal balance was a deficit of 2.4% of GDP in 2023. Ten of 36 OECD countries recorded a primary fiscal surplus, and Norway recorded the largest primary surplus at 13.9% of GDP.
| Fiscal measure | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Average OECD general government balance | 2023 | -4.6% of GDP |
| OECD average fiscal deficit | 2009 | 8.5% of GDP |
| OECD average fiscal deficit | 2020 | 10.2% of GDP |
| Average OECD net interest payments | 2023 | 2.3% of GDP |
| Average OECD primary balance | 2023 | -2.4% of GDP |
| Norway general government surplus | 2023 | 16.5% of GDP |
| Norway primary surplus | 2023 | 13.9% of GDP |
Source: General government fiscal balance: Government at a Glance 2025.
The U.S. federal spending outlook
The Congressional Budget Office’s figures are projections under current law, not observations of completed spending. For fiscal year 2025, CBO projected U.S. federal outlays of $7.0 trillion and federal revenues of $5.2 trillion. It projected a federal budget deficit of $1.9 trillion and federal debt held by the public at 100% of GDP.
Looking to 2035, CBO projected federal outlays at 24.4% of GDP after excluding certain payment-timing shifts. It projected federal debt held by the public at 118% of GDP under current law. The 2035 values are forecasts and should not be presented as realized outcomes.
| U.S. federal measure | Period or basis | CBO projection |
|---|---|---|
| Federal outlays | FY2025 | $7.0 trillion |
| Federal revenues | FY2025 | $5.2 trillion |
| Federal budget deficit | FY2025 | $1.9 trillion |
| Debt held by the public | FY2025 | 100% of GDP |
| Federal outlays | 2035, excluding certain payment-timing shifts | 24.4% of GDP |
| Debt held by the public | 2035, current law | 118% of GDP |