Goods and services expense (% of expense) in United States
United States: Goods and services expense (% of expense) was 6.5% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Goods and services expense in United States, 1972–2023
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
In 2023, goods and services expense in United States stood at 6.5%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.3% on the previous year and down 21.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, goods and services expense in United States peaked at 23.0% in 1972 and was at its lowest, 5.6%, in 2020.
United States ranks 137th of 154 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 52 years of available data.
Goods and services expense (% of expense) in United States, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 23.0% | — |
| 1973 | 21.6% | -6.3% |
| 1974 | 20.1% | -6.9% |
| 1975 | 19.5% | -2.8% |
| 1976 | 16.7% | -14.7% |
| 1977 | 17.4% | +4.5% |
| 1978 | 17.9% | +2.8% |
| 1979 | 17.6% | -1.8% |
| 1980 | 18.4% | +4.7% |
| 1981 | 18.7% | +1.5% |
| 1982 | 19.2% | +2.6% |
| 1983 | 20.3% | +5.9% |
| 1984 | 20.5% | +1.2% |
| 1985 | 20.6% | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 21.0% | +1.6% |
| 1987 | 20.6% | -2.0% |
| 1988 | 20.3% | -1.0% |
| 1989 | 20.2% | -1.0% |
| 1990 | 17.8% | -11.4% |
| 1991 | 17.7% | -0.8% |
| 1992 | 17.3% | -2.1% |
| 1993 | 15.9% | -8.4% |
| 1994 | 15.2% | -4.2% |
| 1995 | 14.0% | -8.0% |
| 1996 | 13.1% | -6.4% |
| 1997 | 13.1% | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 12.8% | -2.1% |
| 1999 | 12.8% | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 12.8% | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 7.3% | -43.0% |
| 2002 | 8.1% | +11.0% |
| 2003 | 9.0% | +11.1% |
| 2004 | 9.7% | +7.6% |
| 2005 | 9.6% | -1.0% |
| 2006 | 9.7% | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 9.4% | -3.3% |
| 2008 | 9.8% | +4.4% |
| 2009 | 9.5% | -2.9% |
| 2010 | 9.8% | +3.0% |
| 2011 | 9.4% | -3.7% |
| 2012 | 9.2% | -2.3% |
| 2013 | 8.2% | -10.3% |
| 2014 | 7.7% | -7.0% |
| 2015 | 7.3% | -4.8% |
| 2016 | 7.1% | -3.3% |
| 2017 | 7.0% | -1.4% |
| 2018 | 7.2% | +2.9% |
| 2019 | 7.4% | +3.4% |
| 2020 | 5.6% | -23.7% |
| 2021 | 5.7% | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 6.7% | +17.6% |
| 2023 | 6.5% | -3.3% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 6.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 9.6%, 68% of the median. (56 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Goods and services expense (% of expense) in United States 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | -43.0% | 12.8% | 7.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 19.2% | 16.7% | 23.0% | 8 |
| 1980s | 20.0% | 18.4% | 21.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 15.0% | 12.8% | 17.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.5% | 7.3% | 12.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.0% | 7.0% | 9.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.1% | 5.6% | 6.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near United States
More public sector data for United States
- 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 745.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2025)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 3.56 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), annual growth rate 52.65 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is goods and services expense in United States?
- Goods and services expense in United States was 6.5% 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 United States?
- The highest recorded value was 23.0% in 1972.
- What is the lowest goods and services expense recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.6% in 2020.
- How does United States rank for goods and services expense?
- United States ranks 137th out of 154 countries with data for 2023.
- Is goods and services expense rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States 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 — 52 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.