Data / General government final consumption expenditure, share of GDP / South Africa

General government final consumption expenditure, share of GDP in South Africa

General government final consumption expenditure, share of GDP in South Africa was 18.9% of GDP in 2025, according to the World Bank. That is down 0.3 pts from 2024.

2025, % of GDP18.9
Change on 2024-0.3 pts
Series high20.62020
Series low8.11960

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General government final consumption expenditure, share of GDP in South Africa, 1960 to 2025

51015202519601970198019902000201020251960: 8.1 % of GDP1961: 8.4 % of GDP1962: 9.2 % of GDP1963: 8.9 % of GDP1964: 9.7 % of GDP1965: 9.9 % of GDP1966: 10 % of GDP1967: 9.8 % of GDP1968: 10.1 % of GDP1969: 10.3 % of GDP1970: 10.8 % of GDP1971: 11.7 % of GDP1972: 11 % of GDP1973: 10.3 % of GDP1974: 10.7 % of GDP1975: 12 % of GDP1976: 12.8 % of GDP1977: 12.5 % of GDP1978: 13.3 % of GDP1979: 13.4 % of GDP1980: 12.8 % of GDP1981: 13.3 % of GDP1982: 14.8 % of GDP1983: 14.4 % of GDP1984: 15.9 % of GDP1985: 16.3 % of GDP1986: 16.8 % of GDP1987: 17.4 % of GDP1988: 16.8 % of GDP1989: 16.8 % of GDP1990: 17.6 % of GDP1991: 17.7 % of GDP1992: 17.9 % of GDP1993: 18.1 % of GDP1994: 18.2 % of GDP1995: 16.5 % of GDP1996: 17.4 % of GDP1997: 17.5 % of GDP1998: 17.1 % of GDP1999: 16.8 % of GDP2000: 16.6 % of GDP2001: 16.6 % of GDP2002: 16.8 % of GDP2003: 16.9 % of GDP2004: 17 % of GDP2005: 16.1 % of GDP2006: 15.9 % of GDP2007: 15.9 % of GDP2008: 17.1 % of GDP2009: 17.8 % of GDP2010: 18 % of GDP2011: 18.2 % of GDP2012: 18.8 % of GDP2013: 19.1 % of GDP2014: 19.3 % of GDP2015: 19 % of GDP2016: 19.3 % of GDP2017: 19.2 % of GDP2018: 19.4 % of GDP2019: 19.6 % of GDP2020: 20.6 % of GDP2021: 19.1 % of GDP2022: 18.8 % of GDP2023: 19.2 % of GDP2024: 19.2 % of GDP2025: 18.9 % of GDP51015202519601982200420251960: 8.1 % of GDP1961: 8.4 % of GDP1962: 9.2 % of GDP1963: 8.9 % of GDP1964: 9.7 % of GDP1965: 9.9 % of GDP1966: 10 % of GDP1967: 9.8 % of GDP1968: 10.1 % of GDP1969: 10.3 % of GDP1970: 10.8 % of GDP1971: 11.7 % of GDP1972: 11 % of GDP1973: 10.3 % of GDP1974: 10.7 % of GDP1975: 12 % of GDP1976: 12.8 % of GDP1977: 12.5 % of GDP1978: 13.3 % of GDP1979: 13.4 % of GDP1980: 12.8 % of GDP1981: 13.3 % of GDP1982: 14.8 % of GDP1983: 14.4 % of GDP1984: 15.9 % of GDP1985: 16.3 % of GDP1986: 16.8 % of GDP1987: 17.4 % of GDP1988: 16.8 % of GDP1989: 16.8 % of GDP1990: 17.6 % of GDP1991: 17.7 % of GDP1992: 17.9 % of GDP1993: 18.1 % of GDP1994: 18.2 % of GDP1995: 16.5 % of GDP1996: 17.4 % of GDP1997: 17.5 % of GDP1998: 17.1 % of GDP1999: 16.8 % of GDP2000: 16.6 % of GDP2001: 16.6 % of GDP2002: 16.8 % of GDP2003: 16.9 % of GDP2004: 17 % of GDP2005: 16.1 % of GDP2006: 15.9 % of GDP2007: 15.9 % of GDP2008: 17.1 % of GDP2009: 17.8 % of GDP2010: 18 % of GDP2011: 18.2 % of GDP2012: 18.8 % of GDP2013: 19.1 % of GDP2014: 19.3 % of GDP2015: 19 % of GDP2016: 19.3 % of GDP2017: 19.2 % of GDP2018: 19.4 % of GDP2019: 19.6 % of GDP2020: 20.6 % of GDP2021: 19.1 % of GDP2022: 18.8 % of GDP2023: 19.2 % of GDP2024: 19.2 % of GDP2025: 18.9 % of GDP
% of GDP. Source: World Bank, General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) (NE.CON.GOVT.ZS). Retrieved 2026-10-18, published 2026-10-08.
All 66 values
Period% of GDP
202518.9
202419.2
202319.2
202218.8
202119.1
202020.6
201919.6
201819.4
201719.2
201619.3
201519
201419.3
201319.1
201218.8
201118.2
201018
200917.8
200817.1
200715.9
200615.9
200516.1
200417
200316.9
200216.8
200116.6
200016.6
199916.8
199817.1
199717.5
199617.4
199516.5
199418.2
199318.1
199217.9
199117.7
199017.6
198916.8
198816.8
198717.4
198616.8
198516.3
198415.9
198314.4
198214.8
198113.3
198012.8
197913.4
197813.3
197712.5
197612.8
197512
197410.7
197310.3
197211
197111.7
197010.8
196910.3
196810.1
19679.8
196610
19659.9
19649.7
19638.9
19629.2
19618.4
19608.1

South Africa compared with nearby places

Albania: 12.8 % of GDPArmenia: 10.2 % of GDPArgentina: 14.9 % of GDPAustria: 21.9 % of GDPAustralia: 23.1 % of GDPAzerbaijan: 15.5 % of GDPBosnia and Herzegovina: 20.3 % of GDPBangladesh: 5.8 % of GDPBelgium: 24 % of GDPBurkina Faso: 17.8 % of GDPBulgaria: 20.8 % of GDPBurundi: 20.6 % of GDPBenin: 8.9 % of GDPBrunei: 23.8 % of GDPBrazil: 19.1 % of GDPBotswana: 31.5 % of GDPBelarus: 18.9 % of GDPCanada: 21.9 % of GDPDemocratic Republic of the Congo: 15.9 % of GDPCentral African Republic: 10.3 % of GDPRepublic of the Congo: 14.9 % of GDPSwitzerland: 12 % of GDPCôte d’Ivoire: 8.7 % of GDPChile: 15.1 % of GDPCameroon: 11.1 % of GDPColombia: 15.5 % of GDPCosta Rica: 14 % of GDPCape Verde: 22.9 % of GDPCyprus: 18.5 % of GDPCzechia: 20 % of GDPGermany: 22.5 % of GDPDjibouti: 15 % of GDPDenmark: 23.2 % of GDPDominican Republic: 11.7 % of GDPAlgeria: 18.3 % of GDPEcuador: 12.8 % of GDPEstonia: 21.5 % of GDPEgypt: 5.4 % of GDPSpain: 19.2 % of GDPEthiopia: 5.8 % of GDPFinland: 26.1 % of GDPFrance: 24.4 % of GDPGabon: 11.2 % of GDPUnited Kingdom: 21.2 % of GDPGeorgia: 13.8 % of GDPGambia: 10.2 % of GDPGuinea: 16.7 % of GDPEquatorial Guinea: 32.4 % of GDPGreece: 18.2 % of GDPGuatemala: 11.5 % of GDPGuinea-Bissau: 15.5 % of GDPHong Kong: 12.6 % of GDPHonduras: 15.2 % of GDPCroatia: 24.3 % of GDPHaiti: 5.5 % of GDPHungary: 20.8 % of GDPIndonesia: 7.5 % of GDPIreland: 11.2 % of GDPIsrael: 25 % of GDPIndia: 10.8 % of GDPIran: 13.3 % of GDPIceland: 26.1 % of GDPItaly: 18.3 % of GDPKenya: 11.2 % of GDPKyrgyzstan: 12.2 % of GDPCambodia: 5.7 % of GDPSouth Korea: 17.6 % of GDPSri Lanka: 6.7 % of GDPLesotho: 36.4 % of GDPLithuania: 19.3 % of GDPLuxembourg: 19.8 % of GDPLatvia: 22.9 % of GDPLibya: 32.3 % of GDPMorocco: 18 % of GDPMoldova: 18.5 % of GDPMontenegro: 17.4 % of GDPMadagascar: 14.6 % of GDPNorth Macedonia: 16.4 % of GDPMali: 13.1 % of GDPMongolia: 14.6 % of GDPMauritania: 16 % of GDPMauritius: 14.2 % of GDPMalawi: 18.2 % of GDPMexico: 11.8 % of GDPMalaysia: 12.4 % of GDPMozambique: 19.2 % of GDPNamibia: 22.3 % of GDPNiger: 12.2 % of GDPNicaragua: 11.4 % of GDPNetherlands: 25.9 % of GDPNorway: 22.6 % of GDPNepal: 8.4 % of GDPPeru: 13.1 % of GDPPhilippines: 15.1 % of GDPPakistan: 9.3 % of GDPPoland: 21.3 % of GDPPuerto Rico: 7.7 % of GDPPalestine: 17 % of GDPPortugal: 17 % of GDPParaguay: 10.9 % of GDPRomania: 17.3 % of GDPSerbia: 18.5 % of GDPRussia: 19.1 % of GDPRwanda: 15.1 % of GDPSaudi Arabia: 20.6 % of GDPSudan: 17.9 % of GDPSweden: 26.4 % of GDPSingapore: 10.3 % of GDPSlovenia: 21.2 % of GDPSlovakia: 21.4 % of GDPSierra Leone: 5.9 % of GDPSenegal: 15.4 % of GDPSomalia: 8.1 % of GDPEl Salvador: 16.4 % of GDPChad: 9.9 % of GDPThailand: 16.7 % of GDPTunisia: 19.9 % of GDPTürkiye: 13.9 % of GDPTanzania: 9.8 % of GDPUkraine: 38.9 % of GDPUganda: 11.7 % of GDPUruguay: 17.6 % of GDPUzbekistan: 15.9 % of GDPVietnam: 9.4 % of GDPSamoa: 18.6 % of GDPSouth Africa: 18.9 % of GDP
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  • 22 and over
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General government final consumption expenditure, share of GDP, 2025, % of GDP. South Africa is outlined. Same source and period for every area shown. Source: World Bank. Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

Rankings

Definition

Government current spending on goods and services, including the pay of public employees and most defence spending, as a percentage of GDP. Government investment and transfers such as pensions are not included. World Bank national accounts data, compiled from national statistical offices and central banks and from OECD national accounts files.

Much smaller than total government spending, which also counts investment, interest and social transfers. Current prices, so the share moves with relative prices as well as volumes. Countries that rebase their national accounts can shift it by several points. The latest year varies by country.

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How to cite

World Bank, World Development Indicators. General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) (NE.CON.GOVT.ZS). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.CON.GOVT.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-18. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

World Bank. (2026). General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) (NE.CON.GOVT.ZS) (General government final consumption expenditure, share of GDP, South Africa, 1960 to 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.CON.GOVT.ZS

MLA 9

General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) (NE.CON.GOVT.ZS), General government final consumption expenditure, share of GDP, South Africa, 1960 to 2025. World Bank, 8 Oct. 2026, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.CON.GOVT.ZS. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/government-consumption-gdp/south-africa. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

World Bank. 2026. General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) (NE.CON.GOVT.ZS). General government final consumption expenditure, share of GDP, South Africa, 1960 to 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.CON.GOVT.ZS. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/government-consumption-gdp/south-africa.

Harvard

World Bank (2026) General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) (NE.CON.GOVT.ZS), General government final consumption expenditure, share of GDP, South Africa, 1960 to 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.CON.GOVT.ZS, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/government-consumption-gdp/south-africa (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{world_general_government_final_consumption_2025,
  author = {{World Bank}},
  title = {{General government final consumption expenditure (\% of GDP) (NE.CON.GOVT.ZS): General government final consumption expenditure, share of GDP, South Africa, 1960 to 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.CON.GOVT.ZS},
  urldate = {2026-10-18},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/government-consumption-gdp/south-africa. Publisher attribution: World Bank, World Development Indicators. General government final consumption expenditure (\% of GDP) (NE.CON.GOVT.ZS). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.CON.GOVT.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-18. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - World Bank
TI  - General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) (NE.CON.GOVT.ZS): General government final consumption expenditure, share of GDP, South Africa, 1960 to 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/08
PB  - World Bank
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.CON.GOVT.ZS
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/government-consumption-gdp/south-africa
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/government-consumption-gdp/south-africa.
N1  - Publisher attribution: World Bank, World Development Indicators. General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) (NE.CON.GOVT.ZS). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.CON.GOVT.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-18. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
ER  -
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Questions

What is the general government final consumption expenditure, share of GDP in South Africa?

General government final consumption expenditure, share of GDP in South Africa was 18.9% of GDP in 2025, according to the World Bank. That is down 0.3 pts from 2024.

Where does this figure come from?

World Bank. General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) (NE.CON.GOVT.ZS). Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-18.

What was the highest general government final consumption expenditure, share of GDP in South Africa?

20.6% of GDP in 2020, the highest value since 1960 in this series.

General government final consumption expenditure, share of GDP in other countries

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