Employee compensation as share of government spending in Bahrain
Bahrain: Employee compensation as share of government spending was 39.5% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Bahrain, 1990–2020
Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
Bahrain recorded 39.5% for employee compensation as share of government spending in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 31 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 6.6% on the previous year and down 10.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employee compensation as share of government spending in Bahrain peaked at 68.3% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 39.5%, in 2020.
That places Bahrain 29th out of 155 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 31 years of available data.
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Bahrain, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 56.4% | — |
| 1991 | 61.1% | +8.3% |
| 1992 | 59.6% | -2.4% |
| 1993 | 55.3% | -7.3% |
| 1994 | 54.6% | -1.2% |
| 1995 | 64.0% | +17.2% |
| 1996 | 66.8% | +4.3% |
| 1997 | 66.8% | -0.0% |
| 1998 | 68.3% | +2.3% |
| 1999 | 64.9% | -5.0% |
| 2000 | 58.4% | -9.9% |
| 2001 | 58.9% | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 53.7% | -8.8% |
| 2003 | 59.8% | +11.3% |
| 2004 | 56.2% | -6.1% |
| 2005 | 54.3% | -3.2% |
| 2006 | 53.1% | -2.2% |
| 2007 | 54.3% | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 50.3% | -7.4% |
| 2009 | 46.9% | -6.7% |
| 2010 | 44.2% | -5.8% |
| 2011 | 41.3% | -6.7% |
| 2012 | 47.9% | +16.2% |
| 2013 | 45.5% | -5.1% |
| 2014 | 44.9% | -1.4% |
| 2015 | 46.2% | +2.9% |
| 2016 | 45.8% | -0.8% |
| 2017 | 45.2% | -1.4% |
| 2018 | 43.3% | -4.1% |
| 2019 | 42.3% | -2.3% |
| 2020 | 39.5% | -6.6% |
Bahrain compared with similar countries
- Bahrain's 39.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 18.9%, 2.1× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Bahrain's 39.5% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 34.5%, 1.1× the median. (14 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 61.8% | 54.6% | 68.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 54.6% | 46.9% | 59.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 44.6% | 41.3% | 47.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 39.5% | 39.5% | 39.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Bahrain
More work & labour data for Bahrain
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.6429 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.5388 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 0.7788 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.08 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.5428 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 2,169 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 158.19 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 1,342 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 1,748 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 3,090 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employee compensation as share of government spending in Bahrain?
- Employee compensation as share of government spending in Bahrain was 39.5% in 2020, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Bahrain?
- The highest recorded value was 68.3% in 1998.
- What is the lowest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Bahrain?
- The lowest recorded value was 39.5% in 2020.
- How does Bahrain rank for employee compensation as share of government spending?
- Bahrain ranks 29th out of 155 countries with data for 2020.
- Is employee compensation as share of government spending rising or falling in Bahrain?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bahrain data come from?
- The figures come from International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Employee compensation as share of government spending. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Employee compensation includes wages, in-kind payments, and government contributions to social insurance schemes such as social security and pensions.