Government spending as share of GDP in Bhutan

Bhutan: Government spending as share of GDP was 27.1% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
27.1%
Change on year
down 5.9%
World rank
90th
of 151 countries
All-time high
50.3%
in 2001
All-time low
24.2%
in 2019
Years of data
38
1987–2024

Government spending as share of GDP in Bhutan, 1987–2024

02040601987200520241987: 47.5 % of GDP1988: 45.3 % of GDP1989: 46.8 % of GDP1990: 35.8 % of GDP1991: 30.8 % of GDP1992: 34.5 % of GDP1993: 35.2 % of GDP1994: 37.9 % of GDP1995: 38.6 % of GDP1996: 37.9 % of GDP1997: 37.8 % of GDP1998: 31.1 % of GDP1999: 40.2 % of GDP2000: 43 % of GDP2001: 50.3 % of GDP2002: 39.3 % of GDP2003: 34.7 % of GDP2004: 31 % of GDP2005: 36.4 % of GDP2006: 33.4 % of GDP2007: 33.2 % of GDP2008: 36.1 % of GDP2009: 39.3 % of GDP2010: 41.5 % of GDP2011: 36.1 % of GDP2012: 35.1 % of GDP2013: 32.5 % of GDP2014: 28.9 % of GDP2015: 27.5 % of GDP2016: 30.5 % of GDP2017: 30.6 % of GDP2018: 31.7 % of GDP2019: 24.2 % of GDP2020: 30.9 % of GDP2021: 36.6 % of GDP2022: 32.1 % of GDP2023: 28.8 % of GDP2024: 27.1 % of GDP

Source: International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.

Analysis

In 2024, government spending as share of gdp in Bhutan stood at 27.1%.

That represents a change of down 5.9% on the previous year and down 6.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government spending as share of gdp in Bhutan peaked at 50.3% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 24.2%, in 2019.

Bhutan ranks 90th of 151 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 38 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 46.5% 45.3% 47.5% 3
1990s 36.0% 30.8% 40.2% 10
2000s 37.7% 31.0% 50.3% 10
2010s 31.9% 24.2% 41.5% 10
2020s 31.1% 27.1% 36.6% 5

Countries ranked near Bhutan

  1. 87 Burkina Faso 27.8% compare
  2. 88 Tajikistan 27.7% compare
  3. 89 Uzbekistan 27.6% compare
  4. 91 Nicaragua 27.1% compare
  5. 92 Chile 26.7% compare
  6. 93 Togo 26.4% compare

See the full ranking of 151 places →

More economy & growth data for Bhutan

All data for Bhutan →

Frequently asked questions

What is government spending as share of gdp in Bhutan?
Government spending as share of gdp in Bhutan was 27.1% in 2024, according to International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest government spending as share of gdp recorded in Bhutan?
The highest recorded value was 50.3% in 2001.
What is the lowest government spending as share of gdp recorded in Bhutan?
The lowest recorded value was 24.2% in 2019.
How does Bhutan rank for government spending as share of gdp?
Bhutan ranks 90th out of 151 countries with data for 2024.
Is government spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Bhutan?
Over the last ten years it is down 6.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Bhutan data come from?
The figures come from International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Government spending as share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Government spending as share of GDP
Unit
% of GDP
Source
International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
151 places, 9,265 data points, 1800–2024
Last refreshed

The 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.