Expense in Canada

Canada: Expense was 19.1% in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
19.1%
Change on year
up 4.9%
World rank
115th
of 157 countries
All-time high
28.6%
in 2020
All-time low
16.4%
in 2014
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Expense in Canada, 1990–2023

01020301990200620231990: 24.1 % of GDP1991: 25.4 % of GDP1992: 25.5 % of GDP1993: 25.1 % of GDP1994: 23.7 % of GDP1995: 23.4 % of GDP1996: 22.3 % of GDP1997: 20.4 % of GDP1998: 20.2 % of GDP1999: 19.8 % of GDP2000: 18.8 % of GDP2001: 18.7 % of GDP2002: 18 % of GDP2003: 18 % of GDP2004: 17.3 % of GDP2005: 17.8 % of GDP2006: 17 % of GDP2007: 17 % of GDP2008: 17.1 % of GDP2009: 18.9 % of GDP2010: 19.1 % of GDP2011: 17.9 % of GDP2012: 17.5 % of GDP2013: 17.1 % of GDP2014: 16.4 % of GDP2015: 17.1 % of GDP2016: 17.5 % of GDP2017: 17.6 % of GDP2018: 17.5 % of GDP2019: 18.1 % of GDP2020: 28.6 % of GDP2021: 22.5 % of GDP2022: 18.2 % of GDP2023: 19.1 % of GDP

Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of GDP.

Analysis

The most recent figure for expense in Canada is 19.1%, measured in 2023.

That represents a change of up 4.9% on the previous year and up 11.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, expense in Canada peaked at 28.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 16.4%, in 2014.

That places Canada 115th out of 157 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 23.0% 19.8% 25.5% 10
2000s 17.9% 17.0% 18.9% 10
2010s 17.6% 16.4% 19.1% 10
2020s 22.1% 18.2% 28.6% 4

Countries ranked near Canada

  1. 112 Burkina Faso 19.6% compare
  2. 113 Nepal 19.4% compare
  3. 114 Ireland 19.2% compare
  4. 116 Paraguay 18.9% compare
  5. 117 Dominican Republic 18.1% compare
  6. 118 Sri Lanka 18.0% compare

See the full ranking of 183 places →

More economy & growth data for Canada

All data for Canada →

Frequently asked questions

What is expense in Canada?
Expense in Canada was 19.1% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
What is the highest expense recorded in Canada?
The highest recorded value was 28.6% in 2020.
What is the lowest expense recorded in Canada?
The lowest recorded value was 16.4% in 2014.
How does Canada rank for expense?
Canada ranks 115th out of 157 countries with data for 2023.
Is expense rising or falling in Canada?
Over the last ten years it is up 11.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Canada data come from?
The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Expense (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

About this data

Indicator
Expense (% of GDP)
Unit
% of GDP
Source
Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
183 places, 5,211 data points, 1972–2024
Last refreshed

Expense is a decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.