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Indicator

Government Spending (% of GDP) by African country

2024

General government total expenditure as a share of GDP.

Africa, 202437 of 54 countries
19.3%population-weighted average
Highest in 2024Lesotho · 53.5%Lowest in 2024Sudan · 6.4%Reported in 202437 of 54 countries surveyed
Click a country to pin it — pinned countries are named on the map. Hatching means no record.
Western Sahara — no separate recordTanzania — 19.1%Democratic Republic of the Congo — 16.7%Somalia — no dataKenya — 23.3%Sudan — 6.4%Chad — 18.8%South Africa — 33.0%Lesotho — 53.5%Zimbabwe — no dataBotswana — no dataNamibia — 39.9%Senegal — 33.5%Mali — no dataMauritania — no dataBenin — 18.1%Niger — 13.4%Nigeria — 12.3%Cameroon — no dataTogo — 26.4%Ghana — 23.2%Cote d'Ivoire — 20.4%Guinea — 20.6%Guinea-Bissau — 20.4%Liberia — no dataSierra Leone — no dataBurkina Faso — 27.8%Central African Republic — 19.5%Republic of the Congo — 21.7%Gabon — 24.8%Equatorial Guinea — 18.5%Zambia — no dataMalawi — no dataMozambique — 33.2%Eswatini — 32.8%Angola — 18.4%Burundi — 22.3%Madagascar — 16.2%Gambia — no dataTunisia — 33.8%Algeria — 36.8%Eritrea — no dataMorocco — 33.0%Egypt — no dataLibya — no dataEthiopia — 9.5%Djibouti — 20.6%Uganda — 18.7%Rwanda — 28.8%South Sudan — no dataNigeria 12.3%Nigeria 12.3%Ethiopia 9.5%Ethiopia 9.5%Kenya 23.3%Kenya 23.3%South Africa 33.0%South Africa 33.0%2024HIGHEST IN 2024Lesotho53.5%Namibia39.9%Algeria36.8%Tunisia33.8%Seychellesnot drawn33.8%LOWEST IN 2024Sudan6.4%Ethiopia9.5%Nigeria12.3%Niger13.4%Madagascar16.2%PINNEDKenya23.3%16 of 37South Africa33.0%9 of 37OTHER ISLAND STATES · NOT DRAWNCabo Verdenot drawn26.1%Comorosnot drawn19.1%Mauritiusnot drawnno dataSao Tome and Principenot drawnno data% of GDP · quintiles of the observed range6.4%18.4%20.4%23.3%33%53.5%no record
20142024
IMF · national statistics offices · the provider's own estimates where a country has not reportedCC BY 4.0
Countries

By region

Population-weighted, so a region’s figure is the share of its people, not the average of its countries.
Southern Africa4 of 5 countries34.0%
Northern Africa4 of 6 countries25.2%
Eastern Africa11 of 18 countries18.0%
Middle Africa7 of 9 countries17.7%
Western Africa11 of 16 countries16.6%
Africaall 54 countries · 37 with a 2024 figure19.3%

What to know before you quote this

Specific to this series. For how we treat data generally, see methods.
17 countries have no usable 2024 recordNot a low value — no figure within the window. Botswana, Cameroon, Egypt, Eritrea, Gambia and 12 more are hatched on the map and blank in the table.
Certainty is judged year by yearA country can be Reported in one year and Modelled the next. The tag follows the year on the scrubber, so the 2024 assessment is not a verdict on the whole series.

About this data

Government Spending (% of GDP)General government total expenditure as a share of GDP.
SourceIMF, with processing by Africa API
Unit% of GDP
Last updated29 Jun 2026
Next expected updateJun 2027
Date range1980–2024
Coverage37 of 54 countries · 37 reported, 0 modelled, 17 with no usable figure

How the figure is made

ReportedA national statistics office or the original provider published the figure for that year directly. 37 countries did so for 2024 — the certainty shown on this page is that 2024 assessment, not a per-series one.ModelledNo direct figure that year. The provider’s own estimate, interpolation or projection stands in, and is marked as such wherever it appears.No dataNo usable figure within the window. Drawn hatched on the map and left blank in the table — not zero, and not filled in.

These three states are used the same way across every indicator on the site — how we treat certainty explains the full set and what we never do to a number.

Reuse and cite

Everything on this page is open under CC BY 4.0 — use it anywhere, including commercially, as long as Africa API and the original provider are credited. The provider’s own licence still applies to their data.

How to cite this page
Africa API (2026) — "Government Spending (% of GDP)". Data adapted from IMF. Retrieved 18 Oct 2026 from africa-api.com/indicators/government-spending
The request behind this view
GET /v1/data?metric_key=government_expenditure_pct_gdp&year=2024&limit=100

Read next

The measures that explain this one.
EconomyGDPGross domestic product in current US dollars.EconomyGDP per CapitaGross domestic product divided by mid-year population, in current US dollars.EconomyInflation RateLatest year-on-year consumer price inflation.

Government Spending (% of GDP): most recent figure per country, highest to lowest

37 countries · each with its own period

The figures at the top of the page compare every country in the same year. This list takes each country’s newest figure instead, whatever its period, so the order can differ.

#CountryGovernment Spending (% of GDP)Period
1Lesotho53.5%2024
2Namibia39.9%2024
3Algeria36.8%2024
4Tunisia33.8%2024
5Seychelles33.8%2024
6Senegal33.5%2024
7Mozambique33.2%2024
8Morocco33%2024
9South Africa33%2024
10Eswatini32.8%2024
11Rwanda28.8%2024
12Burkina Faso27.8%2024
13Togo26.4%2024
14Cabo Verde26.1%2024
15Gabon24.8%2024
16Kenya23.3%2024
17Ghana23.2%2024
18Burundi22.3%2024
19Republic of the Congo21.7%2024
20Djibouti20.6%2024
21Guinea20.6%2024
22Cote d'Ivoire20.4%2024
23Guinea-Bissau20.4%2024
24Central African Republic19.5%2024
25Comoros19.1%2024
26Tanzania19.1%2024
27Chad18.8%2024
28Uganda18.7%2024
29Equatorial Guinea18.5%2024
30Angola18.4%2024
31Benin18.1%2024
32Democratic Republic of the Congo16.7%2024
33Madagascar16.2%2024
34Niger13.4%2024
35Nigeria12.3%2024
36Ethiopia9.5%2024
37Sudan6.4%2024
Which observations are included?
The ranking includes 37 of 54 countries with available observations for 2023 or later and within 2 years of the freshest result. Each figure shows its reporting period. Countries without an eligible observation are omitted.
Does a higher value mean a better result?
The ranking is sorted by value, from highest to lowest. The order does not rate a country's performance. Interpretation depends on the indicator and its definition.

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