Social benefits, Ratio of this level of government's expenditure on in United States

United States: Social benefits, Ratio of this level of government's expenditure on was 0.1632 in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
0.1632
Change on year
up 10.6%
World rank
51st
of 79 countries
All-time high
0.1726
in 2011
All-time low
0.1105
in 2001
Years of data
20
2001–2020

Social benefits, Ratio of this level of government's expenditure on in United States, 2001–2020

00.050.10.152001201020202001: 0.112002: 0.1132003: 0.1182004: 0.1242005: 0.1262006: 0.1222007: 0.1212008: 0.1252009: 0.1432010: 0.1712011: 0.1732012: 0.1532013: 0.1522014: 0.1542015: 0.1532016: 0.152017: 0.1512018: 0.1492019: 0.1482020: 0.163

Source: International Monetary Fund.

Analysis

The most recent figure for social benefits, ratio of this level of government's expenditure on in United States is 0.1632, measured in 2020.

That represents a change of up 10.6% on the previous year and down 4.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, social benefits, ratio of this level of government's expenditure on in United States peaked at 0.1726 in 2011 and was at its lowest, 0.1105, in 2001.

That places United States 51st out of 79 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.

Social benefits, Ratio of this level of government's expenditure on in United States, year by year

Annual values for Social benefits, Ratio of this level of government's expenditure on this item to total general government expenditure on this, Percent (Central government) in United States, 2001 to 2020.
Year Value Change
2001 0.1105
2002 0.1135 +2.7%
2003 0.1184 +4.3%
2004 0.1242 +4.9%
2005 0.126 +1.4%
2006 0.1221 -3.1%
2007 0.1211 -0.9%
2008 0.1252 +3.4%
2009 0.1431 +14.3%
2010 0.1713 +19.7%
2011 0.1726 +0.8%
2012 0.1533 -11.2%
2013 0.1519 -0.9%
2014 0.1538 +1.2%
2015 0.1527 -0.7%
2016 0.1501 -1.7%
2017 0.1514 +0.8%
2018 0.1492 -1.5%
2019 0.1476 -1.0%
2020 0.1632 +10.6%

United States compared with similar countries

  • United States's 0.1632 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.2134, 77% of the median. (42 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 0.1227 0.1105 0.1431 9
2010s 0.1554 0.1476 0.1726 10
2020s 0.1632 0.1632 0.1632 1

Countries ranked near United States

  1. 48 Denmark 0.1767 compare
  2. 49 Netherlands 0.1686 compare
  3. 50 Kyrgyzstan 0.1658 compare
  4. 52 Ukraine 0.1618 compare
  5. 53 Hungary 0.1609 compare
  6. 54 United Arab Emirates 0.1378 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 social benefits, ratio of this level of government's expenditure on in United States?
Social benefits, ratio of this level of government's expenditure on in United States was 0.1632 in 2020, according to International Monetary Fund.
What is the highest social benefits, ratio of this level of government's expenditure on recorded in United States?
The highest recorded value was 0.1726 in 2011.
What is the lowest social benefits, ratio of this level of government's expenditure on recorded in United States?
The lowest recorded value was 0.1105 in 2001.
How does United States rank for social benefits, ratio of this level of government's expenditure on?
United States ranks 51st out of 79 countries with data for 2020.
Is social benefits, ratio of this level of government's expenditure on rising or falling in United States?
Over the last ten years it is down 4.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United States data come from?
The figures come from International Monetary Fund, published as part of Social benefits, 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.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under IMF Terms and Conditions (attribution required).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Social benefits, Ratio of this level of government's expenditure on in United States. Statizoid, drawing on International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 17 September 2026, from https://public-sector.statizoid.com/stat/social-benefits-ratio-of-this-level-of-government-s-expenditure-on-this-item-to-total/united-states/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under IMF Terms and Conditions (attribution required); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://public-sector.statizoid.com/stat/social-benefits-ratio-of-this-level-of-government-s-expenditure-on-this-item-to-total/united-states/">Social benefits, Ratio of this level of government's expenditure on in United States</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Social benefits, 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, 1,532 data points, 1972–2020
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.