Employee compensation as share of government spending in Belize
Belize: Employee compensation as share of government spending was 52.4% in 2017. ▼ Falling
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Belize, 1990–2017
Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
Belize recorded 52.4% for employee compensation as share of government spending in 2017.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.2% on the previous year and up 37.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employee compensation as share of government spending in Belize peaked at 63.9% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 35.4%, in 2006.
Belize ranks 4th of 155 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 28 years of available data.
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Belize, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 63.9% | — |
| 1991 | 63.7% | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 55.4% | -13.1% |
| 1993 | 54.6% | -1.5% |
| 1994 | 53.8% | -1.4% |
| 1995 | 54.9% | +2.1% |
| 1996 | 51.3% | -6.5% |
| 1997 | 51.6% | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 53.0% | +2.6% |
| 1999 | 51.1% | -3.6% |
| 2000 | 51.0% | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 48.4% | -5.2% |
| 2002 | 49.1% | +1.4% |
| 2003 | 45.0% | -8.3% |
| 2004 | 39.5% | -12.1% |
| 2005 | 40.6% | +2.8% |
| 2006 | 35.4% | -13.0% |
| 2007 | 38.2% | +8.1% |
| 2008 | 39.5% | +3.3% |
| 2009 | 41.0% | +3.8% |
| 2010 | 40.5% | -1.2% |
| 2011 | 40.7% | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 52.8% | +29.8% |
| 2013 | 50.6% | -4.2% |
| 2014 | 51.9% | +2.7% |
| 2015 | 53.5% | +3.0% |
| 2016 | 53.0% | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 52.4% | -1.2% |
Belize compared with similar countries
- Belize's 52.4% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 26.6%, 2.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Belize's 52.4% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 32.0%, 1.6× the median. (25 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Employee compensation as share of government spending in Belize changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | +29.8% | 40.7% | 52.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 55.3% | 51.1% | 63.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 42.8% | 35.4% | 51.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 49.4% | 40.5% | 53.5% | 8 |
Countries ranked near Belize
- 1 Mozambique 62.0% compare
- 2 Laos 54.2% compare
- 3 Botswana 54.0% compare
- 5 Iraq 51.9%
- 6 Central African Republic 49.9% compare
- 7 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 49.8% compare
More work & labour data for Belize
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.7058 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.6517 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.7615 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -0.152 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 1.62 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 338.14 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 254.28 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 219.33 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 228.04 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 447.37 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employee compensation as share of government spending in Belize?
- Employee compensation as share of government spending in Belize was 52.4% in 2017, 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 Belize?
- The highest recorded value was 63.9% in 1990.
- What is the lowest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Belize?
- The lowest recorded value was 35.4% in 2006.
- How does Belize rank for employee compensation as share of government spending?
- Belize ranks 4th out of 155 countries with data for 2017.
- Is employee compensation as share of government spending rising or falling in Belize?
- Over the last ten years it is up 37.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Belize 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 — 28 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.