Expense (current LCU) - Country Ranking - Africa

Definition: Expense is cash payments for operating activities of the government in providing goods and services. It includes compensation of employees (such as wages and salaries), interest and subsidies, grants, social benefits, and other expenses such as rent and dividends.

Source: International Monetary Fund, Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files.

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 Tanzania 18,808,000,000,000.00 2018
2 Uganda 17,852,000,000,000.00 2019
3 Madagascar 5,171,330,000,000.00 2019
4 Angola 5,060,620,000,000.00 2019
5 Côte d'Ivoire 4,821,140,000,000.00 2019
6 Senegal 2,548,390,000,000.00 2018
7 Cameroon 2,523,940,000,000.00 2018
8 South Africa 1,934,880,000,000.00 2019
9 Kenya 1,924,520,000,000.00 2019
10 Rwanda 1,800,650,000,000.00 2019
11 Burkina Faso 1,711,310,000,000.00 2019
12 Malawi 1,454,970,000,000.00 2020
13 Congo 1,397,210,000,000.00 2018
14 Gabon 1,338,870,000,000.00 2019
15 Mali 1,301,830,000,000.00 2019
16 Equatorial Guinea 759,747,000,000.00 2019
17 Egypt 738,800,000,000.00 2015
18 Togo 548,863,000,000.00 2019
19 Morocco 289,969,000,000.00 2019
20 Guinea 279,476,000,000.00 1992
21 Ethiopia 261,149,000,000.00 2019
22 Mozambique 194,479,000,000.00 2019
23 Central African Republic 124,885,000,000.00 2018
24 Guinea-Bissau 123,544,000,000.00 2019
25 Mauritius 116,976,000,000.00 2019
26 Burundi 94,029,300,000.00 1999
27 Zambia 65,967,010,000.00 2019
28 Ghana 62,434,270,000.00 2019
29 Sudan 62,195,000,000.00 2016
30 Niger 53,872,000,000.00 1980
31 Botswana 51,812,660,000.00 2019
32 Cabo Verde 49,202,640,000.00 2017
33 Namibia 44,489,970,000.00 2019
34 Tunisia 24,950,100,000.00 2012
35 Lesotho 13,556,430,000.00 2019
36 Zimbabwe 7,641,667,000.00 2018
37 Seychelles 7,053,065,000.00 2018
38 The Gambia 428,710,000.00 1990
39 Somalia 300,717,000.00 2019
40 Liberia 297,000,000.00 1982
41 Dem. Rep. Congo 1.32 1989

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Limitations and Exceptions: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Despite IMF efforts to standardize data collection, statistics are often incomplete, untimely, and not comparable across countries.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: The IMF's Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014, harmonized with the 2008 SNA, recommends an accrual accounting method, focusing on all economic events affecting assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses, not just those represented by cash transactions. It accounts for all changes in stocks, so stock data at the end of an accounting period equal stock data at the beginning of the period plus flows over the period. The 1986 manual considered only debt stocks. Government finance statistics are reported in local currency. Many countries report government finance data by fiscal year; see country metadata for information on fiscal year end by country.

Periodicity: Annual