AUGovernment spending
How fast government day-to-day spending is growing in Australia, and how large it is next to other economies.
26 September 2026Last checked
Australia now
+2.0%
Day-to-day spending by every level of government in the June quarter 2026, against a year earlier, after inflation. +2.4% the quarter before.
Quarterly, calculated by Signetry from ABS figures. Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Show the figures
| Period | Annual change |
|---|---|
| Jun qtr 2026 | +2.0% |
| Mar qtr 2026 | +2.4% |
| Dec qtr 2025 | +3.2% |
| Sep qtr 2025 | +3.0% |
| Jun qtr 2025 | +3.6% |
| Mar qtr 2025 | +3.8% |
| Dec qtr 2024 | +5.3% |
| Sep qtr 2024 | +5.2% |
| Jun qtr 2024 | +4.6% |
| Mar qtr 2024 | +4.1% |
| Dec qtr 2023 | +2.6% |
| Sep qtr 2023 | +2.9% |
| Jun qtr 2023 | +1.5% |
| Mar qtr 2023 | +0.2% |
| Dec qtr 2022 | +2.5% |
| Sep qtr 2022 | +2.9% |
| Jun qtr 2022 | +6.4% |
| Mar qtr 2022 | +8.8% |
| Dec qtr 2021 | +6.2% |
| Sep qtr 2021 | +6.2% |
| Jun qtr 2021 | +5.0% |
| Mar qtr 2021 | +5.5% |
| Dec qtr 2020 | +7.7% |
| Sep qtr 2020 | +8.2% |
| Jun qtr 2020 | +7.1% |
| Mar qtr 2020 | +8.2% |
| Dec qtr 2019 | +6.9% |
| Sep qtr 2019 | +7.3% |
| Jun qtr 2019 | +7.2% |
| Mar qtr 2019 | +4.2% |
Australia against 45 other countries
2024, the latest year all 46 have reported. Australia’s 22.2% is 9th highest of the 46. The dashed line is the median, 20.1%. The comparison is government spending as a share of each economy, not its growth, so a large economy and a small one compare fairly.
- Sweden26.6%
- Finland26.1%
- Iceland25.9%
- Netherlands25.8%
- Israel25.2%
- France24.2%
- Belgium23.7%
- Denmark23.0%
- Australia22.2%
- Norway22.1%
- Germany22.0%
- Latvia21.7%
- Austria21.6%
- Canada21.4%
- Saudi Arabia21.4%
- Slovakia21.1%
- New Zealand21.1%
- Estonia21.0%
- United Kingdom20.9%
- Poland20.8%
- Slovenia20.4%
- Hungary20.4%
- Japan20.1%
- Czechia20.0%
- Spain19.3%
- South Africa19.2%
- Luxembourg19.1%
- Lithuania18.8%
- Brazil18.8%
- Greece18.6%
- Italy18.1%
- South Korea17.5%
- Portugal16.9%
- China16.7%
- Chile15.1%
- Argentina14.9%
- Colombia14.8%
- Türkiye14.5%
- Costa Rica14.1%
- United States13.6%
- Ireland12.1%
- Switzerland11.9%
- Mexico11.6%
- India10.7%
- Singapore10.1%
- Indonesia7.7%
Annual. World Bank, updated 13 July 2026. 2025 arrives once Japan, New Zealand, United States and China report.
How it is measured
- What it is
- What every level of government spends on running services: wages, goods and services. Not transfers such as pensions, and not building.
- Australia's figure
- The ABS's national accounts, general government final consumption, after inflation. The annual change is calculated by Signetry from the ABS's quarterly figures.
- The comparison
- The World Bank's general government final consumption as a share of GDP.
- The countries
- The 38 members of the OECD, seven more G20 economies (Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa), and Singapore. The same 46 on every page.
- When it changes
- Australia's figure every time the ABS publishes. The comparison once a year, when the World Bank has a year that all 46 countries have reported.