Australia vs Japan: Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita
Australia
38.9%
in 2024
Japan
39.1%
in 2024
Australia rank
46th
Japan rank
45th
Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita over time
- Australia
- Japan
How they compare
Japan currently reports 39.1% against 38.9% in Australia, a difference of 0.2%.
The two have swapped places 16 times across 121 shared years of data; in 1901 it was Japan ahead.
Australia ranks 46th and Japan ranks 45th of 151 countries.
Across the 13 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 10 and Japan in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 2.4% | 2.1% | 0.3% | Australia |
| 1910s | 5.2% | 1.9% | 3.3% | Australia |
| 1920s | 5.3% | 2.2% | 3.2% | Australia |
| 1930s | 5.5% | 3.7% | 1.8% | Australia |
| 1940s | 14.5% | 9.6% | 4.9% | Australia |
| 1950s | 12.4% | 18.3% | 5.9% | Japan |
| 1960s | 24.2% | 19.7% | 4.5% | Australia |
| 1970s | 30.2% | 26.7% | 3.5% | Australia |
| 1980s | 36.1% | 31.0% | 5.1% | Australia |
| 1990s | 36.5% | 32.8% | 3.7% | Australia |
| 2000s | 34.9% | 34.8% | 0.1% | Australia |
| 2010s | 37.0% | 37.7% | 0.7% | Japan |
| 2020s | 40.1% | 41.4% | 1.4% | Japan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita, Australia or Japan?
- Japan, at 39.1% against 38.9% in Australia as of 2024.
- What is the difference in government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita between Australia and Japan?
- 0.2%, with Japan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and Japan?
- 121 years are reported by both, from 1901 to 2024.
- How do Australia and Japan rank globally for government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita?
- Australia ranks 46th and Japan ranks 45th of 151 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Sum of all the money spent by the government on goods and services, as a percentage of GDP. It includes interest paid on government debt.