Compensation of employees (% of expense) in Australia
Australia: Compensation of employees (% of expense) was 9.5% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Compensation of employees in Australia, 1990–2022
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
In 2022, compensation of employees in Australia stood at 9.5%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 7.6% on the previous year and down 9.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, compensation of employees in Australia peaked at 12.1% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 2.1%, in 1990.
That places Australia 142nd out of 155 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Compensation of employees (% of expense) in Australia, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 2.1% | — |
| 1991 | 2.2% | +1.4% |
| 1992 | 2.2% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 2.2% | +2.6% |
| 1994 | 2.3% | +4.5% |
| 1995 | 2.3% | -2.6% |
| 1996 | 2.2% | -1.1% |
| 1997 | 2.9% | +28.8% |
| 1998 | 3.0% | +5.4% |
| 1999 | 12.1% | +298.1% |
| 2000 | 10.7% | -11.6% |
| 2001 | 9.9% | -7.4% |
| 2002 | 9.8% | -0.9% |
| 2003 | 10.4% | +5.5% |
| 2004 | 10.4% | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 10.2% | -2.2% |
| 2006 | 10.3% | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 10.5% | +1.8% |
| 2008 | 10.5% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 9.8% | -6.1% |
| 2010 | 10.3% | +4.6% |
| 2011 | 10.5% | +2.3% |
| 2012 | 10.5% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 11.5% | +9.0% |
| 2014 | 10.6% | -7.8% |
| 2015 | 10.4% | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 10.6% | +2.0% |
| 2017 | 10.6% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 10.3% | -2.8% |
| 2019 | 10.5% | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 10.0% | -5.4% |
| 2021 | 8.8% | -11.3% |
| 2022 | 9.5% | +7.6% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 9.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 18.9%, 50% of the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Australia's 9.5% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 29.6%, 32% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Compensation of employees (% of expense) in Australia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | +298.1% | 3.0% | 12.1% |
| 1997 | +28.8% | 2.2% | 2.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.4% | 2.1% | 12.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.3% | 9.8% | 10.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.6% | 10.3% | 11.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.4% | 8.8% | 10.0% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More public sector data for Australia
- Democracy, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Elected parliament, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Arms imports 826.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2025)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 36.15 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0006 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate 159.37 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is compensation of employees in Australia?
- Compensation of employees in Australia was 9.5% in 2022, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest compensation of employees recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 12.1% in 1999.
- What is the lowest compensation of employees recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.1% in 1990.
- How does Australia rank for compensation of employees?
- Australia ranks 142nd out of 155 countries with data for 2022.
- Is compensation of employees rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Compensation of employees (% of expense). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Compensation of employees is defined as the total remuneration, in cash or in kind, payable by an enterprise to an employee in return for work done by the latter during the accounting period. This indicator is expressed as percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.