Employee compensation as share of government spending in Botswana
Botswana: Employee compensation as share of government spending was 54.0% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Botswana, 1990–2023
Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
The most recent figure for employee compensation as share of government spending in Botswana is 54.0%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 7.1% on the previous year and up 24.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employee compensation as share of government spending in Botswana peaked at 54.0% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 29.1%, in 1990.
Botswana ranks 3rd of 155 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Botswana, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 29.1% | — |
| 1991 | 33.3% | +14.5% |
| 1992 | 34.1% | +2.3% |
| 1993 | 34.5% | +1.2% |
| 1994 | 32.6% | -5.5% |
| 1995 | 30.5% | -6.4% |
| 1996 | 30.9% | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 40.0% | +29.1% |
| 2007 | 39.5% | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 38.4% | -2.8% |
| 2009 | 37.7% | -2.0% |
| 2010 | 41.4% | +9.8% |
| 2011 | 42.0% | +1.7% |
| 2012 | 43.4% | +3.3% |
| 2013 | 43.4% | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 41.0% | -5.5% |
| 2015 | 43.3% | +5.6% |
| 2016 | 43.7% | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 43.4% | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 43.7% | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 50.7% | +15.8% |
| 2020 | 49.5% | -2.4% |
| 2021 | 50.2% | +1.5% |
| 2022 | 50.4% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 54.0% | +7.1% |
Botswana compared with similar countries
- Botswana's 54.0% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 26.6%, 2.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Botswana's 54.0% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 36.9%, 1.5× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Employee compensation as share of government spending in Botswana 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | +29.1% | 30.9% | 40.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 32.1% | 29.1% | 34.5% | 7 |
| 2000s | 38.9% | 37.7% | 40.0% | 4 |
| 2010s | 43.6% | 41.0% | 50.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 51.0% | 49.5% | 54.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
- 1 Mozambique 62.0% compare
- 2 Laos 54.2% compare
- 4 Belize 52.4% compare
- 5 Iraq 51.9% compare
- 6 Central African Republic 49.9% compare
More work & labour data for Botswana
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.146 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.1401 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.1516 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -0.9387 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 1.07 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 2,871 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 550.66 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 1,969 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 1,868 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 3,837 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employee compensation as share of government spending in Botswana?
- Employee compensation as share of government spending in Botswana was 54.0% in 2023, 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 Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 54.0% in 2023.
- What is the lowest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.1% in 1990.
- How does Botswana rank for employee compensation as share of government spending?
- Botswana ranks 3rd out of 155 countries with data for 2023.
- Is employee compensation as share of government spending rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Botswana 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.
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CSV · JSON — 25 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.