Proportion of total government spending on essential services, social in United States of America
United States of America: Proportion of total government spending on essential services, social was 20.2% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Proportion of total government spending on essential services, social in United States of America, 2000–2023
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database. Measured in %.
Analysis
United States of America recorded 20.2% for proportion of total government spending on essential services, social in 2023.
That represents a change of down 7.2% on the previous year and down 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, proportion of total government spending on essential services, social in United States of America peaked at 26.5% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 17.9%, in 2007.
United States of America ranks 74th of 127 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Proportion of total government spending on essential services, social in United States of America, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 19.0% | — |
| 2001 | 18.8% | -1.5% |
| 2002 | 19.3% | +2.8% |
| 2003 | 19.0% | -1.2% |
| 2004 | 18.6% | -2.2% |
| 2005 | 18.3% | -1.5% |
| 2006 | 18.3% | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 17.9% | -1.9% |
| 2008 | 19.4% | +8.3% |
| 2009 | 20.0% | +3.0% |
| 2010 | 20.9% | +4.4% |
| 2011 | 20.5% | -1.8% |
| 2012 | 20.3% | -1.1% |
| 2013 | 20.6% | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 20.4% | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 20.5% | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 20.2% | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 20.0% | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 19.8% | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 19.8% | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 25.4% | +28.2% |
| 2021 | 26.5% | +4.4% |
| 2022 | 21.7% | -18.0% |
| 2023 | 20.2% | -7.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 18.9% | 17.9% | 20.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.3% | 19.8% | 20.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.4% | 20.2% | 26.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near United States of America
More poverty & inequality data for United States of America
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 9 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.62 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 8,414 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 1 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 24.85 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 24.8% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is proportion of total government spending on essential services, social in United States of America?
- Proportion of total government spending on essential services, social in United States of America was 20.2% in 2023, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest proportion of total government spending on essential services, social recorded in United States of America?
- The highest recorded value was 26.5% in 2021.
- What is the lowest proportion of total government spending on essential services, social recorded in United States of America?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.9% in 2007.
- How does United States of America rank for proportion of total government spending on essential services, social?
- United States of America ranks 74th out of 127 countries with data for 2023.
- Is proportion of total government spending on essential services, social rising or falling in United States of America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States of America data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database, published as part of Proportion of total government spending on essential services, social protection (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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