Costa Rica vs Malta: Employee compensation as share of government spending
Costa Rica
26.8%
in 2023
Malta
26.9%
in 2023
Costa Rica rank
72nd
Malta rank
71st
Employee compensation as share of government spending over time
- Costa Rica
- Malta
How they compare
Malta currently reports 26.9% against 26.8% in Costa Rica, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 49 shared years of data; in 1973 it was Costa Rica ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 72nd and Malta ranks 71st of 155 countries.
Costa Rica has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Malta | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 53.2% | 38.2% | 15.1% | Costa Rica |
| 1980s | 43.3% | 39.2% | 4.2% | Costa Rica |
| 1990s | 39.8% | 36.4% | 3.4% | Costa Rica |
| 2000s | 42.0% | 32.5% | 9.5% | Costa Rica |
| 2010s | 44.7% | 30.9% | 13.8% | Costa Rica |
| 2020s | 28.6% | 27.3% | 1.4% | Costa Rica |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher employee compensation as share of government spending, Costa Rica or Malta?
- Malta, at 26.9% against 26.8% in Costa Rica as of 2023.
- What is the difference in employee compensation as share of government spending between Costa Rica and Malta?
- 0.1%, with Malta ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Malta?
- 49 years are reported by both, from 1973 to 2023.
- How do Costa Rica and Malta rank globally for employee compensation as share of government spending?
- Costa Rica ranks 72nd and Malta ranks 71st of 155 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Employee compensation as share of government spending. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Employee compensation includes wages, in-kind payments, and government contributions to social insurance schemes such as social security and pensions.