Compensation of employees, Ratio of this level of government's in South Africa

South Africa: Compensation of employees, Ratio of this level of government's was 0.3408 in 2020. ▬ Flat

Latest (2020)
0.3408
Change on year
down 1.8%
World rank
64th
of 79 countries
All-time high
0.356
in 2017
All-time low
0.3277
in 2009
Years of data
24
1997–2020

Compensation of employees, Ratio of this level of government's in South Africa, 1997–2020

00.10.20.30.41997200820201997: 0.3331998: 0.3361999: 0.3342000: 0.3312001: 0.3412002: 0.3412003: 0.3392004: 0.3462005: 0.3522006: 0.3472007: 0.3462008: 0.3392009: 0.3282010: 0.3382011: 0.3292012: 0.3352013: 0.3392014: 0.342015: 0.3532016: 0.3552017: 0.3562018: 0.3512019: 0.3472020: 0.341

Source: International Monetary Fund.

Analysis

In 2020, compensation of employees, ratio of this level of government's in South Africa stood at 0.3408.

The figure is down 1.8% on the previous year and up 0.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, compensation of employees, ratio of this level of government's in South Africa peaked at 0.356 in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.3277, in 2009.

South Africa ranks 64th of 79 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

Compensation of employees, Ratio of this level of government's in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Compensation of employees, Ratio of this level of government's expenditure on this item to total general government expenditure on this, Percent (Central government) in South Africa, 1997 to 2020.
Year Value Change
1997 0.3325
1998 0.3364 +1.2%
1999 0.3343 -0.6%
2000 0.3313 -0.9%
2001 0.341 +2.9%
2002 0.3407 -0.1%
2003 0.3394 -0.4%
2004 0.3458 +1.9%
2005 0.3521 +1.8%
2006 0.3472 -1.4%
2007 0.3461 -0.3%
2008 0.3385 -2.2%
2009 0.3277 -3.2%
2010 0.3384 +3.3%
2011 0.3292 -2.7%
2012 0.3355 +1.9%
2013 0.3393 +1.1%
2014 0.3397 +0.1%
2015 0.353 +3.9%
2016 0.355 +0.6%
2017 0.356 +0.3%
2018 0.3513 -1.3%
2019 0.3471 -1.2%
2020 0.3408 -1.8%

South Africa compared with similar countries

  • South Africa's 0.3408 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.7869, 43% of the median. (27 countries reporting)
  • South Africa's 0.3408 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.7623, 45% of the median. (7 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 0.3344 0.3325 0.3364 3
2000s 0.341 0.3277 0.3521 10
2010s 0.3445 0.3292 0.356 10
2020s 0.3408 0.3408 0.3408 1

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 61 Belarus 0.3716 compare
  2. 62 Netherlands 0.3618 compare
  3. 63 Serbia 0.3576 compare
  4. 65 Mexico 0.3264 compare
  5. 66 Brazil 0.3082 compare
  6. 67 Kazakhstan 0.2935 compare

See the full ranking of 79 places →

More public sector data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is compensation of employees, ratio of this level of government's in South Africa?
Compensation of employees, ratio of this level of government's in South Africa was 0.3408 in 2020, according to International Monetary Fund.
What is the highest compensation of employees, ratio of this level of government's recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 0.356 in 2017.
What is the lowest compensation of employees, ratio of this level of government's recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 0.3277 in 2009.
How does South Africa rank for compensation of employees, ratio of this level of government's?
South Africa ranks 64th out of 79 countries with data for 2020.
Is compensation of employees, ratio of this level of government's rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from International Monetary Fund, published as part of Compensation of employees, Ratio of this level of government's expenditure on this item to total general government expenditure on this, Percent (Central government). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Compensation of employees, Ratio of this level of government's in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://public-sector.statizoid.com/stat/compensation-of-employees-ratio-of-this-level-of-government-s-expenditure-on-this-item-to/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Compensation of employees, Ratio of this level of government's expenditure on this item to total general government expenditure on this, Percent (Central government)
Source
International Monetary Fund
Licence
IMF Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
79 places, 1,583 data points, 1973–2020
Last refreshed

The Fiscal Decentralization dataset includes fiscal decentralization indicators for a sample of IMF member countries. The following indicators are included in the dataset: Revenue and Expenditure Decentralization Shares; Transfer dependency and Vertical Fiscal Imbalances; Deficit and Debt; Allocation of expenditure (economic classification); Allocation of expenditure (functional classification); Allocation of non-Tax Revenues; and Allocation of Taxes.