economy · Public finance

How much does the government spend?

Government expense as a share of GDP.

13.3%
1.5x since 1974 Expense · 2022
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 197419801986199219982004201020162022 2022
Source: World Bank Indicators API · indicator GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS Fetched 3/6/2026

At a glance

13.3%
latest value, 2022
8.7%
first value, 1974
46
annual observations in this artifact
annual
source frequency
The explanation Draft prose wraps locked source numbers; no numbers are generated at request time

Government spending share gives a first sense of the public sector's footprint.

Government spending share gives a first sense of the public sector's footprint.

Government expense as a share of GDP.

Read this as one piece of evidence, not the whole story. The useful question is what changes over time, what stays stuck, and what the indicator leaves out.

Keep pulling the thread

How big is India's economy? -> How fast is India's economy growing? -> How rich is the average Indian by GDP per person? ->

Methodology

MeasureExpense
GeographyIndia
Unit% of GDP
TransformValues displayed as percent of GDP.
CaveatExpense is not the same as total public investment or service quality.