How often is this ranking updated?

It refreshes on a fixed schedule from Our World in Data. The latest snapshot was captured on 2026-11-02.

Where does the data come from?

Our World in Data. Data from Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0) and the sources it cites. The raw payload for every refresh is stored unchanged so any number can be traced back.

Finance and crypto · ranked by Government expenditure

Countries with the highest government spending as a share of GDP

Name: Countries with the highest government spending as a share of GDP — snapshot history
Creator: Top10Earth
License: https://ourworldindata.org/about#legal

50 ranked · updated 2026-11-02

Number oneNauru103.6 % of GDP

Ranking by Government expenditure
#	Name	Government expenditure	Change
1	Nauru	103.6 % of GDP	new
2	Kiribati	83.68 % of GDP	new
3	Ukraine	65.56 % of GDP	new
4	Marshall Islands	59.44 % of GDP	new
5	Palau	58.95 % of GDP	new
6	East Timor	52.49 % of GDP	new
7	Greece	47.3 % of GDP	new
8	Italy	47.28 % of GDP	new
9	France	47.26 % of GDP	new
10	Austria	46.03 % of GDP	new

Show positions 11–50

11	Finland	44.91 % of GDP	new
12	Slovenia	42.87 % of GDP	new
13	Hungary	42.42 % of GDP	new
14	Luxembourg	42.23 % of GDP	new
15	United Kingdom	41.23 % of GDP	new
16	San Marino	40.49 % of GDP	new
17	Lesotho	40.23 % of GDP	new
18	Netherlands	39.97 % of GDP	new
19	Slovakia	39.77 % of GDP	new
20	Belgium	39.71 % of GDP	new
21	Poland	39.1 % of GDP	new
22	Cyprus	38.46 % of GDP	new
23	Croatia	38.13 % of GDP	new
24	Estonia	37.69 % of GDP	new
25	Israel	37.35 % of GDP	new
26	Romania	37.3 % of GDP	new
27	Portugal	37.16 % of GDP	new
28	Uruguay	36.45 % of GDP	new
29	Namibia	36.16 % of GDP	new
30	Bulgaria	35.76 % of GDP	new
31	New Zealand	35.5 % of GDP	new
32	Serbia	35.46 % of GDP	new
33	Bosnia and Herzegovina	35.3 % of GDP	new
34	Tonga	34.65 % of GDP	new
35	Norway	34.52 % of GDP	new
36	Moldova	34.47 % of GDP	new
37	Czechia	34.44 % of GDP	new
38	Latvia	34.2 % of GDP	new
39	Spain	34.04 % of GDP	new
40	Lithuania	33.86 % of GDP	new
41	Malta	33.67 % of GDP	new
42	South Africa	33.42 % of GDP	new
43	North Macedonia	33.38 % of GDP	new
44	Denmark	33.34 % of GDP	new
45	Trinidad and Tobago	33.32 % of GDP	new
46	Colombia	33.28 % of GDP	new
47	Turkey	33.03 % of GDP	new
48	Sweden	32.51 % of GDP	new
49	Brazil	32.43 % of GDP	new
50	Iceland	32.05 % of GDP	new

Can you name the top 10?

History

How the top 10 has moved

Positions of today's top 10 across every published snapshot.

History appears once this ranking has at least two published snapshots.

About this ranking

Countries with the highest government spending as a share of GDP, explained

Countries with the highest government spending as a share of GDP is a live ranking of the top 50 entries in finance and crypto by Government expenditure, built from public data published by Our World in Data. It was last refreshed on 2026-11-02. This is the first published snapshot; from the next refresh onwards the page will also show movers, new entries and a rank history chart.

Nauru currently holds #1 with 103.6 % of GDP. Kiribati is second with 83.68 % of GDP, which puts the leader 24% ahead. Ukraine completes the top three with 65.56 % of GDP. Together the top three account for about 41% of the combined top-10 total, which gives a quick sense of how concentrated this ranking is.

How it is measured: Total government expenditure as a share of GDP. Our World in Data chart "total-gov-expenditure-gdp-wdi" (column gc_xpn_totl_gd_zs); most recent year per country within the last five years of data, regional aggregates excluded. Caveat: Years differ by country; the chart page documents the original source and its limitations. Data from Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0) and the sources it cites. The full top 50 is on this page, with positions 11 to 50 one click away, and each entry links to its own profile showing every ranking it appears in.

Use this page to check who is number one right now, compare any two entries head to head, or test yourself with the quiz, which asks you to name all ten in three minutes. Year-end archives are available for 2026, freezing the ranking as it stood at the close of each year. Top10Earth never estimates or edits a value: each number is fetched from its source, hashed, stored and ranked by software, then checked by a quality gate before it is published. If a refresh fails the gate, the previous snapshot stays live and the problem is reviewed by a person.

Frequently asked questions

Who is #1 in Countries with the highest government spending as a share of GDP?: Nauru is #1 with 103.6 % of GDP, as of 2026-11-02. Kiribati is #2.
How is Countries with the highest government spending as a share of GDP ranked?: By Government expenditure. Total government expenditure as a share of GDP. Our World in Data chart "total-gov-expenditure-gdp-wdi" (column gc_xpn_totl_gd_zs); most recent year per country within the last five years of data, regional aggregates excluded.
How often is this ranking updated?: It refreshes on a fixed schedule from Our World in Data. The latest snapshot was captured on 2026-11-02.
Where does the data come from?: Our World in Data. Data from Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0) and the sources it cites. The raw payload for every refresh is stored unchanged so any number can be traced back.

How this ranking is made

Measure: Government expenditure (% of GDP). Total government expenditure as a share of GDP. Our World in Data chart "total-gov-expenditure-gdp-wdi" (column gc_xpn_totl_gd_zs); most recent year per country within the last five years of data, regional aggregates excluded.
Source: Our World in Data — Data from Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0) and the sources it cites. (terms)
Fetched: 2026-11-02 11:05 UTC; source data as of 2024-12-31
Caveat: Years differ by country; the chart page documents the original source and its limitations.

Every snapshot is kept; corrections are published as new snapshots and labelled. Nothing on this page is estimated or generated.

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