Australia vs United States of America: Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita
Australia
38.9%
in 2024
United States of America
37.9%
in 2024
Australia rank
46th
United States of America rank
49th
Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita over time
- Australia
- United States of America
How they compare
Australia currently reports 38.9% against 37.9% in United States of America, a difference of 1.0%.
The two have swapped places 11 times across 96 shared years of data; in 1929 it was United States of America ahead.
Australia ranks 46th and United States of America ranks 49th of 151 countries.
Across the 11 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 4 and United States of America in 7.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 5.0% | 8.3% | 3.3% | United States of America |
| 1930s | 5.5% | 16.1% | 10.7% | United States of America |
| 1940s | 16.7% | 25.6% | 8.8% | United States of America |
| 1950s | 12.4% | 23.9% | 11.5% | United States of America |
| 1960s | 24.2% | 26.7% | 2.5% | United States of America |
| 1970s | 30.2% | 32.9% | 2.7% | United States of America |
| 1980s | 36.1% | 34.4% | 1.7% | Australia |
| 1990s | 36.5% | 34.8% | 1.8% | Australia |
| 2000s | 34.9% | 34.7% | 0.2% | Australia |
| 2010s | 37.0% | 36.4% | 0.7% | Australia |
| 2020s | 40.1% | 40.1% | 0.0% | United States of America |
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 United States of America?
- Australia, at 38.9% against 37.9% in United States of America as of 2024.
- What is the difference in government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita between Australia and United States of America?
- 1.0%, with Australia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and United States of America?
- 96 years are reported by both, from 1929 to 2024.
- How do Australia and United States of America rank globally for government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita?
- Australia ranks 46th and United States of America ranks 49th 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.