Compensation of employees, Ratio of this level of government's in United States

United States: Compensation of employees, Ratio of this level of government's was 0.1978 in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
0.1978
Change on year
up 2.5%
World rank
73rd
of 79 countries
All-time high
0.2704
in 1989
All-time low
0.1553
in 2001
Years of data
32
1989–2020

Compensation of employees, Ratio of this level of government's in United States, 1989–2020

00.10.20.31989200420201989: 0.271990: 0.2611991: 0.2581992: 0.2491993: 0.2391994: 0.2311995: 0.2251996: 0.2181997: 0.2151998: 0.2091999: 0.2072000: 0.2072001: 0.1552002: 0.1652003: 0.1812004: 0.1842005: 0.1892006: 0.1872007: 0.1862008: 0.192009: 0.1982010: 0.2092011: 0.2122012: 0.212013: 0.1982014: 0.1952015: 0.1912016: 0.1932017: 0.1922018: 0.1922019: 0.1932020: 0.198

Source: International Monetary Fund.

Analysis

United States recorded 0.1978 for compensation of employees, ratio of this level of government's in 2020.

The figure is up 2.5% on the previous year and down 5.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, compensation of employees, ratio of this level of government's in United States peaked at 0.2704 in 1989 and was at its lowest, 0.1553, in 2001.

That places United States 73rd out of 79 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 32 years of available data.

Compensation of employees, Ratio of this level of government's in United States, 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 United States, 1989 to 2020.
Year Value Change
1989 0.2704
1990 0.2615 -3.3%
1991 0.2577 -1.5%
1992 0.2493 -3.2%
1993 0.2391 -4.1%
1994 0.231 -3.4%
1995 0.2251 -2.6%
1996 0.2183 -3.0%
1997 0.2148 -1.6%
1998 0.2086 -2.9%
1999 0.2075 -0.5%
2000 0.207 -0.3%
2001 0.1553 -25.0%
2002 0.1652 +6.3%
2003 0.1806 +9.4%
2004 0.1835 +1.6%
2005 0.1887 +2.8%
2006 0.1872 -0.8%
2007 0.1865 -0.4%
2008 0.1895 +1.6%
2009 0.1984 +4.7%
2010 0.2087 +5.2%
2011 0.2119 +1.6%
2012 0.2096 -1.1%
2013 0.1983 -5.4%
2014 0.1952 -1.6%
2015 0.1914 -1.9%
2016 0.1926 +0.6%
2017 0.1918 -0.4%
2018 0.1924 +0.3%
2019 0.1929 +0.3%
2020 0.1978 +2.5%

United States compared with similar countries

  • United States's 0.1978 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.4996, 40% of the median. (42 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 0.2704 0.2704 0.2704 1
1990s 0.2313 0.2075 0.2615 10
2000s 0.1842 0.1553 0.207 10
2010s 0.1985 0.1914 0.2119 10
2020s 0.1978 0.1978 0.1978 1

Countries ranked near United States

  1. 70 Sweden 0.2397 compare
  2. 71 Finland 0.2269 compare
  3. 72 United Arab Emirates 0.2083 compare
  4. 74 Japan 0.1968 compare
  5. 75 Spain 0.1818 compare
  6. 76 Belgium 0.1731 compare

See the full ranking of 79 places →

More public sector data for United States

All data for United States →

Frequently asked questions

What is compensation of employees, ratio of this level of government's in United States?
Compensation of employees, ratio of this level of government's in United States was 0.1978 in 2020, according to International Monetary Fund.
What is the highest compensation of employees, ratio of this level of government's recorded in United States?
The highest recorded value was 0.2704 in 1989.
What is the lowest compensation of employees, ratio of this level of government's recorded in United States?
The lowest recorded value was 0.1553 in 2001.
How does United States rank for compensation of employees, ratio of this level of government's?
United States ranks 73rd out of 79 countries with data for 2020.
Is compensation of employees, ratio of this level of government's rising or falling in United States?
Over the last ten years it is down 5.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this United States 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 United States. 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/united-states/

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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.