Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita in Germany
Germany: Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita was 19.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
19.7%
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
92nd
of 184 countries
All-time high
19.9%
in 2021
All-time low
12.6%
in 1956
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita in Germany, 1950–2023
Source: Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2023, share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in Germany stood at 19.7%.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 20.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in Germany peaked at 19.9% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 12.6%, in 1956.
Germany ranks 92nd of 184 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita in Germany, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 14.3% | — |
| 1951 | 14.3% | -0.2% |
| 1952 | 14.8% | +3.7% |
| 1953 | 14.4% | -2.9% |
| 1954 | 14.0% | -2.8% |
| 1955 | 13.0% | -7.4% |
| 1956 | 12.6% | -2.9% |
| 1957 | 12.7% | +0.9% |
| 1958 | 13.4% | +5.3% |
| 1959 | 13.5% | +0.9% |
| 1960 | 12.8% | -5.0% |
| 1961 | 13.3% | +3.9% |
| 1962 | 14.0% | +5.3% |
| 1963 | 14.7% | +4.6% |
| 1964 | 14.0% | -4.3% |
| 1965 | 14.3% | +2.0% |
| 1966 | 14.6% | +2.4% |
| 1967 | 15.5% | +5.8% |
| 1968 | 15.0% | -3.5% |
| 1969 | 14.6% | -2.1% |
| 1970 | 14.7% | +0.2% |
| 1971 | 15.3% | +4.3% |
| 1972 | 15.5% | +1.3% |
| 1973 | 15.6% | +0.8% |
| 1974 | 16.5% | +5.4% |
| 1975 | 17.3% | +5.1% |
| 1976 | 17.0% | -1.6% |
| 1977 | 17.1% | +0.5% |
| 1978 | 17.5% | +2.1% |
| 1979 | 17.6% | +0.9% |
| 1980 | 18.6% | +5.6% |
| 1981 | 19.5% | +4.5% |
| 1982 | 18.9% | -2.6% |
| 1983 | 18.0% | -4.7% |
| 1984 | 17.4% | -3.3% |
| 1985 | 16.9% | -3.0% |
| 1986 | 16.5% | -2.7% |
| 1987 | 16.2% | -1.5% |
| 1988 | 15.7% | -2.9% |
| 1989 | 14.9% | -5.4% |
| 1990 | 13.6% | -8.7% |
| 1991 | 13.3% | -2.0% |
| 1992 | 14.0% | +5.3% |
| 1993 | 14.2% | +1.1% |
| 1994 | 14.2% | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 14.1% | -1.0% |
| 1996 | 13.8% | -1.6% |
| 1997 | 14.0% | +1.4% |
| 1998 | 14.0% | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 14.6% | +3.8% |
| 2000 | 14.6% | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 14.8% | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 15.3% | +3.5% |
| 2003 | 15.3% | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 14.6% | -4.5% |
| 2005 | 14.4% | -1.3% |
| 2006 | 14.7% | +2.1% |
| 2007 | 14.8% | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 15.8% | +7.4% |
| 2009 | 17.5% | +10.3% |
| 2010 | 17.4% | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 16.5% | -4.8% |
| 2012 | 16.2% | -2.3% |
| 2013 | 16.3% | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 16.4% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 16.8% | +2.8% |
| 2016 | 17.2% | +2.3% |
| 2017 | 17.4% | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 17.2% | -1.0% |
| 2019 | 17.9% | +4.1% |
| 2020 | 19.7% | +10.2% |
| 2021 | 19.9% | +1.0% |
| 2022 | 19.7% | -1.4% |
| 2023 | 19.7% | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 13.7% | 12.6% | 14.8% | 10 |
| 1960s | 14.3% | 12.8% | 15.5% | 10 |
| 1970s | 16.4% | 14.7% | 17.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 17.3% | 14.9% | 19.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 14.0% | 13.3% | 14.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 15.2% | 14.4% | 17.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.9% | 16.2% | 17.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.8% | 19.7% | 19.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Germany
- 89 Costa Rica 20.1% compare
- 90 Burkina Faso 19.9% compare
- 91 Spain 19.7% compare
- 93 Fiji 19.6% compare
- 94 Jordan 19.6% compare
- 95 Guinea-Bissau 19.4% compare
More economy & growth data for Germany
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 0.7761 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 0.6565 Percent per annum (2029)
- Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 3.09 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.1528 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), per capita 9,246 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$), annual growth rate 9 % change on previous year (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3808 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$), per capita 23,036 current US$ per person (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current LCU), annual growth rate 4.41 % change on previous year (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current LCU), per unit of GDP 0.337 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in Germany?
- Share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in Germany was 19.7% in 2023, according to Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita recorded in Germany?
- The highest recorded value was 19.9% in 2021.
- What is the lowest share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita recorded in Germany?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.6% in 1956.
- How does Germany rank for share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita?
- Germany ranks 92nd out of 184 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Germany?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Germany data come from?
- The figures come from Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Government consumption divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.