Proportion of total government spending on essential services in United States of America
United States of America: Proportion of total government spending on essential services was 11.3% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Latest (2021)
11.3%
Change on year
down 7.1%
Rank
18th
of 20 groups
All-time high
13.9%
in 2017
All-time low
11.3%
in 2021
Years of data
7
2015–2021
Proportion of total government spending on essential services in United States of America, 2015–2021
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
Analysis
The most recent figure for proportion of total government spending on essential services in United States of America is 11.3%, measured in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 7 years on record.
That represents a change of down 7.1% on the previous year and down 16.6% over ten years.
That places United States of America 18th out of 20 groups with data for 2021, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Proportion of total government spending on essential services in United States of America, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 13.5% | — |
| 2016 | 13.2% | -2.8% |
| 2017 | 13.9% | +5.4% |
| 2018 | 13.1% | -5.2% |
| 2019 | 13.3% | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 12.2% | -8.4% |
| 2021 | 11.3% | -7.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 13.4% | 13.1% | 13.9% | 5 |
| 2020s | 11.7% | 11.3% | 12.2% | 2 |
Countries ranked near United States of America
- 15 Costa Rica 20.4% compare
- 16 Burkina Faso 20.3% compare
- 17 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 20.2% compare
- 18 Kiribati 20.1% compare
- 19 Kyrgyzstan 19.6% compare
- 20 Vanuatu 19.3% compare
- 21 Tajikistan 19.3% compare
More education data for United States of America
- Proportion of youth not in education, employment or training, by sex 11.6% (2025)
- Adjusted gender parity index for participation rate in formal and 1.08 (2024)
- Participation rate in formal and non-formal education and training 54.6% (2024)
- Proportion of total government spending on essential services 13.8% (2023)
- Adjusted gender parity index for completion rate, by location, wealth 1 (2024)
- Proportion of teachers with the minimum required qualifications, by 100.0% (2023)
- Adjusted gender parity index for the proportion of teachers with the 1.0% (2023)
- Number of destroyed or damaged educational facilities attributed to 197 (2021)
- Number of disruptions to educational services attributed to disasters 35 (2021)
- Proportion of youth not in education, employment or training, by sex 11.6% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is proportion of total government spending on essential services in United States of America?
- Proportion of total government spending on essential services in United States of America was 11.3% in 2021, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest proportion of total government spending on essential services recorded in United States of America?
- The highest recorded value was 13.9% in 2017.
- What is the lowest proportion of total government spending on essential services recorded in United States of America?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.3% in 2021.
- How does United States of America rank for proportion of total government spending on essential services?
- United States of America ranks 18th out of 20 groups with data for 2021.
- Is proportion of total government spending on essential services rising or falling in United States of America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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, education [UIS methodology] (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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