Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita was 14.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
14.7%
Change on year
down 2.4%
World rank
138th
of 184 countries
All-time high
22.3%
in 1986
All-time low
6.3%
in 1980
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita in Sri Lanka, 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 Sri Lanka stood at 14.7%.
That represents a change of down 2.4% on the previous year and up 4.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in Sri Lanka peaked at 22.3% in 1986 and was at its lowest, 6.3%, in 1980.
Sri Lanka ranks 138th 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 Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 7.8% | — |
| 1951 | 7.8% | +0.2% |
| 1952 | 9.3% | +18.9% |
| 1953 | 9.3% | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 9.6% | +3.5% |
| 1955 | 9.3% | -3.2% |
| 1956 | 13.2% | +42.1% |
| 1957 | 12.4% | -6.0% |
| 1958 | 14.5% | +16.6% |
| 1959 | 14.4% | -0.7% |
| 1960 | 14.4% | +0.6% |
| 1961 | 15.0% | +4.1% |
| 1962 | 14.8% | -1.6% |
| 1963 | 15.8% | +6.9% |
| 1964 | 16.1% | +1.8% |
| 1965 | 17.5% | +8.8% |
| 1966 | 16.5% | -5.9% |
| 1967 | 17.2% | +4.4% |
| 1968 | 16.0% | -6.8% |
| 1969 | 15.3% | -4.7% |
| 1970 | 15.5% | +1.4% |
| 1971 | 16.6% | +7.4% |
| 1972 | 17.0% | +2.4% |
| 1973 | 17.4% | +1.8% |
| 1974 | 14.8% | -14.4% |
| 1975 | 14.3% | -3.4% |
| 1976 | 10.3% | -27.9% |
| 1977 | 8.2% | -21.2% |
| 1978 | 8.3% | +1.3% |
| 1979 | 7.5% | -9.4% |
| 1980 | 6.3% | -15.7% |
| 1981 | 6.8% | +7.4% |
| 1982 | 9.4% | +38.8% |
| 1983 | 10.3% | +9.9% |
| 1984 | 12.9% | +24.6% |
| 1985 | 20.2% | +56.7% |
| 1986 | 22.3% | +10.5% |
| 1987 | 22.0% | -1.2% |
| 1988 | 21.7% | -1.7% |
| 1989 | 19.9% | -8.3% |
| 1990 | 19.0% | -4.2% |
| 1991 | 20.4% | +7.1% |
| 1992 | 19.5% | -4.6% |
| 1993 | 18.5% | -4.8% |
| 1994 | 17.9% | -3.4% |
| 1995 | 18.9% | +5.7% |
| 1996 | 19.2% | +1.4% |
| 1997 | 18.5% | -3.6% |
| 1998 | 16.8% | -9.0% |
| 1999 | 16.4% | -2.4% |
| 2000 | 16.1% | -1.9% |
| 2001 | 15.0% | -7.1% |
| 2002 | 13.1% | -12.8% |
| 2003 | 12.3% | -5.6% |
| 2004 | 12.5% | +1.7% |
| 2005 | 13.6% | +8.4% |
| 2006 | 14.1% | +3.5% |
| 2007 | 14.4% | +2.6% |
| 2008 | 15.3% | +6.3% |
| 2009 | 17.2% | +11.9% |
| 2010 | 16.5% | -3.9% |
| 2011 | 15.1% | -8.5% |
| 2012 | 14.8% | -1.9% |
| 2013 | 14.0% | -5.1% |
| 2014 | 14.3% | +1.8% |
| 2015 | 14.4% | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 13.1% | -9.5% |
| 2017 | 11.9% | -8.7% |
| 2018 | 13.3% | +11.6% |
| 2019 | 14.2% | +7.0% |
| 2020 | 15.9% | +11.4% |
| 2021 | 13.9% | -12.5% |
| 2022 | 15.0% | +8.2% |
| 2023 | 14.7% | -2.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 10.7% | 7.8% | 14.5% | 10 |
| 1960s | 15.9% | 14.4% | 17.5% | 10 |
| 1970s | 13.0% | 7.5% | 17.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 15.2% | 6.3% | 22.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 18.5% | 16.4% | 20.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.4% | 12.3% | 17.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.2% | 11.9% | 16.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.9% | 13.9% | 15.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More economy & growth data for Sri Lanka
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP -8.07 Percent per annum (2022)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP -7.82 Percent per annum (2022)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (current LCU) 5.96 % change on previous year (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (current LCU) 203.1 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (current LCU) 1.02 million current LCU per person (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (constant 2015) 6.26 % change on previous year (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (constant 2015) 0.6 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (constant 2015) 3,001 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Final consumption expenditure (current US$), annual growth rate 6.33 % change on previous year (2025)
- Final consumption expenditure (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.7423 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in Sri Lanka?
- Share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in Sri Lanka was 14.7% 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 22.3% in 1986.
- What is the lowest share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.3% in 1980.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita?
- Sri Lanka ranks 138th out of 184 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.