Government spending in the United States was last recorded at 34.4 percent of GDP in 2023 . This dataset provides - United States Government Spending To Gdp- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The ratio of government expenditure to GDP in the United States was forecast to decrease between 2024 and 2029 by in total 0.5 percentage points. This overall decrease does not happen continuously, notably not in 2026. According to this forecast, in 2029, the ratio will have decreased for the third consecutive year to 37.08 percent. Shown here is the general government expenditure as a share of the national gross domestic product. As defined by the International Monetary Fund, the general government expenditure consists of total expense and the net acquisition of nonfinancial assets. The gross domestic product represents the total value of final goods and services produced during a year.Find more statistics on other topics about the United States with key insights such as the annual change in imports of trade goods and services, the number of employed people, and ratio of the national debt to the gross domestic product.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Government: Current Expenditures (FGEXPND) from Q1 1947 to Q4 2024 about expenditures, federal, government, GDP, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Surplus or Deficit [-] as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (FYFSGDA188S) from 1929 to 2024 about budget, federal, GDP, and USA.

In 2023, the U.S. government had a budget deficit of 1.69 trillion U.S. dollars. This is compared to 2000, when the government had a budget surplus of 0.24 trillion U.S. dollars.

U.S. Government budget

The government budget is a financial statement that demonstrates the government’s suggested revenues and spending for the financial year. Budget surpluses occur when income exceeds expenditures. Budget deficits occur when spending exceeds income. The budget balance of the U.S. government has fluctuated since 2016, and is expected to decrease slightly by 2026.

Military spending

Defense outlays in the United States amounted to 714 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. It is expected to continue to increase over the next several years. The United States currently has the largest defense budget in the world, and is the largest employer in the world. The military budget funds the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force. The amount of funding that goes towards the Department of Defense is heavily criticized by Democrats in the United States, because they believe that the funding should be more evenly distributed towards other social welfare programs such as public health insurance and education.

The United States recorded a Government Debt to GDP of 122.30 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2023. This dataset provides - United States Government Debt To GDP - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

In September 2023, the national debt of the United States had risen up to 33.17 trillion U.S. dollars. The national debt per capita had risen to 85,552 U.S. dollars in 2021. As represented by the statistic above, the public debt of the United States has been continuously rising.

U.S. public debt Public debt, also known as national and governmental debt, is the debt owed by a nations’ central government. In the case of the U.S., national debt is owed by the federal government to Treasury security holders. Generally speaking, government debt increases with government spending, and can be decreased through taxes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government increased spending significantly to finance virus infrastructure, aid, and various forms of economic relief.

International public debt

Venezuela leads the global ranking of the 20 countries with the highest public debt in 2021. In relation to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Venezuela's public debt amounted to around 306.95 percent of GDP. Eritrea was ranked fifth, with an estimated debt of 170 percent of the Gross Domestic Product.

The national debt of the United Kingdom is forecasted to grow from 87 percent in 2022 to 70 percent in 2027, in relation to the Gross Domestic Product. These figures include England, Wales, Scotland as well as Northern Ireland.

Greece had the highest national debt among EU countries as of the 4th quarter of 2020 in relation to the Gross Domestic Product. Germany ranked 13th in the EU, with its national debt amounting to 69 percent of GDP in the same time period.

Tuvalu was one of the 20 countries with the lowest national debt in 2021 in relation to the GDP, while Macao had an estimated level of national debt of zero percent, the lowest of any country. The data refer to the debts of the entire state, including the central government, the provinces, municipalities, local authorities and social insurance.

In 2022, U.S. national health expenditure as a share of its gross domestic product (GDP) reached 17.3 percent, this was a decrease on the previous year. The United States has the highest health spending based on GDP share among developed countries. Both public and private health spending in the U.S. is much higher than other developed countries. Why the U.S. pays so much moreWhile private health spending in Canada stays at around three percent and in Germany under two percent of the gross domestic product, it is nearly nine percent in the United States. Another reason for high costs can be found in physicians’ salaries, which are much higher in the U.S. than in other wealthy countries. A general practitioner in the U.S. earns nearly twice as much as the average physician in other high-income countries. Additionally, medicine spending per capita is also significantly higher in the United States. Finally, inflated health care administration costs are another of the predominant factors which make health care spending in the U.S. out of proportion. It is important to state that Americans do not pay more because they have a higher health care utilization, but mainly because of higher prices. Expected developmentsBy 2031, it is expected that health care spending in the U.S. will reach nearly one fifth of the nation’s gross domestic product. Or in dollar-terms, health care expenditures will accumulate to about seven trillion U.S. dollars in total.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Outlays: Interest as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (FYOIGDA188S) from 1940 to 2024 about outlays, federal, percent, interest, GDP, and USA.

The U.S. budget deficit amounted to roughly 1.7 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023, which was around 6.3 percent of the U.S. GDP. The forecast predicts a state deficit of about 2.58 trillion U.S. dollars in 2034, which would be about 6.2 percent of the U.S. GDP. The GDP of the United States since 1990 can be accessed here.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Receipts as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (FYFRGDA188S) from 1929 to 2024 about receipts, federal, GDP, and USA.

Between 2010 and 2024, France constantly had the highest total government expenditure of the G7 countries in terms of share of gross domestic product (GDP). In 2024, its total expenditure was estimated to amount to 57 percent of its GDP. On the other hand, the United States had the lowest government expenditure that year at 38 percent of its GDP. Government spending increased in all G7 countries in 2020 to stem the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Graph and download economic data for Gross Federal Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (GFDGDPA188S) from 1939 to 2023 about gross, debt, federal, GDP, and USA.

The statistic shows the national debt of the United States from 2019 to 2022 in relation to the gross domestic product (GDP), with projections up until 2029. In 2022, the national debt of the United States was at around 120.03 percent of the gross domestic product. See the US GDP for further information. US finances There has been a dramatic increase in the public debt of the United States since 1990, although the month-to-month change has been quite stable over the last few months. Public debt is defined as the amount of money borrowed by a country to cover budget deficits. A ranking of individual state debt in the United States shows that California is leading by a clear margin, with more than double the amount of runner-up New York. Vermont, North Dakota and South Dakota are the states with the lowest amount of debt. Even before the recession of 2008, the national debt of the United States had been increasing steadily and excessively, and it is predicted to rise even further. Budget cuts and fewer job opportunities as a result of the crisis are taking their toll on the American economy, which is still recovering. Trade figures as well as unemployment are still below average. Subsequently, the national debt and the national debt of the United States per capita have more or less quadrupled since the 1990s. Interestingly, the United States is not even among the top ten of countries with the highest public debt in relation to gross domestic product in international comparison. Japan, Greece and Italy – among others – report far higher figures than the United States.

Key information about US Consolidated Fiscal Balance: % of GDP

• United States Consolidated Fiscal Balance recorded a deficit equal to 7.0 % of its Nominal GDP in Dec 2024, compared with a deficit equal to 6.4 % in the previous quarter
• US Consolidated Fiscal Balance to GDP data is updated quarterly, available from Sep 1981 to Dec 2024, with an average ratio of -3.4 %
• The data reached an all-time high of 2.5 % in Dec 2000 and a record low of -19.0 % in Mar 2021

CEIC calculates quarterly Consolidated Fiscal Balance as % of Nominal GDP from monthly Consolidated Fiscal Balance and quarterly Nominal GDP. The Bureau of the Fiscal Service provides Consolidated Fiscal Balance in USD. The Bureau of Economic Analysis provides Nominal GDP in USD. Consolidated Fiscal Balance covers Central Government only.


Further information about US Consolidated Fiscal Balance: % of GDP

• In the latest reports, US National Government Debt reached 36,220.2 USD bn in Jan 2025
• US Nominal GDP reached 6,632.4 USD bn in Mar 2023

Graph and download economic data for Federal Surplus or Deficit - from Oct 1980 to Jan 2025 about budget, federal, and USA.

In 2023, the gross federal debt in the United States amounted to around 93,500 U.S. dollars per capita. This is a moderate increase from the previous year, when the per capita national debt amounted to about 92,528 U.S. dollars. The total debt accrued by the U.S. annually can be accessed here. Federal debt of the United States The level of national debt held by the United States government has risen sharply in the years following the Great Recession. Federal debt is the amount of debt the federal government owes to creditors who hold assets in the form of debt securities. As with individuals and consumers, there is a common consensus among economists that holding debt is not necessarily problematic for government so long as the public debt is held at a sustainable level. Although there is no agreed upon ratio of debt to gross domestic product, the increasing debt held by the Federal Reserve has become a major part of the political discourse in the United States. Politics and the national debt In recent years, debate over the debt ceiling has been of concern to domestic politicians, the owners of federal debt, and global economy as a whole. The debt ceiling is a legislated maximum amount that national debt can reach intended to impose a degree of fiscal prudence on incumbent governments. However, as national debt has grown the debt ceiling has been reached, thus forcing legislative action by Congress. In both 2011 and 2013, new legislation was passed by Congress allowing the debt ceiling to be raised. The Budget Control Act of 2011 and the No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 successively allowed the government to avoid defaulting on national debt and therefore avert a potential economic crisis.

Government Spending in Japan increased to 119943.10 JPY Billion in the fourth quarter of 2024 from 119604.80 JPY Billion in the third quarter of 2024. This dataset provides - Japan Government Spending - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

As a share of gross domestic product (GDP), Ukraine spent more on its military than any other country in 2023, reaching 37 percent of the country's GDP. The high figure is due to the country being invaded by Russia in February 2022. Algeria and Saudi Arabia followed behind.Leading military spending countriesIn gross terms, the countries with the highest military spending are the United States, China, and Russia. However, these are countries with large populations and GDPs, and smaller countries usually cannot compete alone, regardless of how much they invest. For this reason, they form alliances such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). NATO countries aim to pool two percent of their GDP towards their own militaries and to aid each other in case of war. Regional differencesThe past decade has seen an increase in global military spending. This has not been distributed evenly. That period saw large positive changes in military spending from several Asian countries, including a large increase from China. While this does not reflect the number of active conflicts, it reflects growing tensions in global affairs.

Graph and download economic data for Federal Debt Held by the Public as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (FYGFGDQ188S) from Q1 1970 to Q4 2024 about public, debt, federal, GDP, and USA.