Goods and services expense (% of expense) in European Union
European Union: Goods and services expense (% of expense) was 8.0% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Goods and services expense in European Union, 1980–2023
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
The most recent figure for goods and services expense in European Union is 8.0%, measured in 2023.
The figure is up 1.8% on the previous year and up 4.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, goods and services expense in European Union peaked at 10.8% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 7.2%, in 1996.
That places European Union 37th out of 41 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 44 years of available data.
Goods and services expense (% of expense) in European Union, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 9.7% | — |
| 1981 | 10.0% | +3.2% |
| 1982 | 10.3% | +2.9% |
| 1983 | 10.2% | -1.0% |
| 1984 | 10.1% | -0.6% |
| 1985 | 10.1% | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 9.4% | -7.1% |
| 1987 | 9.9% | +4.9% |
| 1988 | 10.0% | +1.3% |
| 1989 | 9.8% | -1.9% |
| 1990 | 10.8% | +10.5% |
| 1991 | 9.0% | -17.0% |
| 1992 | 9.3% | +3.7% |
| 1993 | 9.8% | +5.1% |
| 1994 | 10.7% | +9.5% |
| 1995 | 7.6% | -29.6% |
| 1996 | 7.2% | -4.3% |
| 1997 | 7.8% | +8.1% |
| 1998 | 7.5% | -4.1% |
| 1999 | 7.5% | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 7.8% | +5.1% |
| 2001 | 8.0% | +2.4% |
| 2002 | 7.9% | -1.6% |
| 2003 | 7.9% | -0.0% |
| 2004 | 8.1% | +1.9% |
| 2005 | 8.0% | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 8.2% | +2.5% |
| 2007 | 9.0% | +9.5% |
| 2008 | 8.7% | -3.4% |
| 2009 | 9.1% | +4.4% |
| 2010 | 8.4% | -7.0% |
| 2011 | 8.5% | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 7.6% | -10.9% |
| 2013 | 7.7% | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 7.6% | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 7.9% | +3.0% |
| 2016 | 8.2% | +4.4% |
| 2017 | 8.1% | -1.1% |
| 2018 | 7.9% | -2.9% |
| 2019 | 7.8% | -1.2% |
| 2020 | 7.5% | -4.0% |
| 2021 | 7.7% | +2.5% |
| 2022 | 7.9% | +2.9% |
| 2023 | 8.0% | +1.8% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Goods and services expense (% of expense) in European Union 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | -29.6% | 10.7% | 7.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 10.0% | 9.4% | 10.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.7% | 7.2% | 10.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.3% | 7.8% | 9.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.0% | 7.6% | 8.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.8% | 7.5% | 8.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near European Union
- 34 Philippines 22.3% compare
- 35 Trinidad and Tobago 22.1% compare
- 36 Senegal 21.9% compare
- 37 Tajikistan 21.7% compare
- 38 Bahamas 21.6% compare
- 39 Iceland 21.5% compare
- 40 Kenya 21.3% compare
More public sector data for European Union
- Arms imports 9.52 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2025)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 13.69 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0003 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate 29.33 % change on previous year (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 6.17 billion SIPRI trend indicator values (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 818.48 current USD per person (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0.0189 current USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), annual growth rate 20.53 % change on previous year (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 368.50 billion current USD (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per square kilometre 1,195 SIPRI trend indicator values per square kilometre (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is goods and services expense in European Union?
- Goods and services expense in European Union was 8.0% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest goods and services expense recorded in European Union?
- The highest recorded value was 10.8% in 1990.
- What is the lowest goods and services expense recorded in European Union?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.2% in 1996.
- How does European Union rank for goods and services expense?
- European Union ranks 37th out of 41 groups with data for 2023.
- Is goods and services expense rising or falling in European Union?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this European Union data come from?
- The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Goods and services expense (% of expense). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 44 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Goods and services include all government payments in exchange for goods and services used for the production of market and nonmarket goods and services. Use of goods and services for own account capital formation is excluded. This indicator is expressed as percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.