Employee compensation as share of government spending in Guatemala
Guatemala: Employee compensation as share of government spending was 32.0% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Guatemala, 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
Guatemala recorded 32.0% for employee compensation as share of government spending in 2023.
That represents a change of up 2.8% on the previous year and up 2.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employee compensation as share of government spending in Guatemala peaked at 49.8% in 1995 and was at its lowest, 25.1%, in 2007.
That places Guatemala 57th out of 155 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 30 years of available data.
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Guatemala, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 37.4% | — |
| 1991 | 35.3% | -5.5% |
| 1992 | 36.1% | +2.1% |
| 1993 | 41.0% | +13.5% |
| 1994 | 42.2% | +3.0% |
| 1995 | 49.8% | +18.1% |
| 2000 | 31.3% | -37.1% |
| 2001 | 30.7% | -1.9% |
| 2002 | 30.9% | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 27.0% | -12.5% |
| 2004 | 28.1% | +4.0% |
| 2005 | 25.5% | -9.3% |
| 2006 | 25.4% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 25.1% | -1.4% |
| 2008 | 26.6% | +6.1% |
| 2009 | 29.0% | +9.0% |
| 2010 | 29.6% | +1.9% |
| 2011 | 30.3% | +2.5% |
| 2012 | 29.3% | -3.5% |
| 2013 | 31.1% | +6.3% |
| 2014 | 33.9% | +9.1% |
| 2015 | 36.4% | +7.4% |
| 2016 | 35.5% | -2.4% |
| 2017 | 36.4% | +2.5% |
| 2018 | 35.8% | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 36.4% | +1.9% |
| 2020 | 33.1% | -9.0% |
| 2021 | 34.8% | +4.9% |
| 2022 | 31.1% | -10.5% |
| 2023 | 32.0% | +2.8% |
Guatemala compared with similar countries
- Guatemala's 32.0% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 26.6%, 1.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Guatemala's 32.0% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 32.0%, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Employee compensation as share of government spending in Guatemala 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | -37.1% | 49.8% | 31.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 40.3% | 35.3% | 49.8% | 6 |
| 2000s | 28.0% | 25.1% | 31.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 33.5% | 29.3% | 36.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 32.8% | 31.1% | 34.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Guatemala
More work & labour data for Guatemala
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.3404 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.3121 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.3683 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -0.6261 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 1.73 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 18,121 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 8,847 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 13,041 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 12,871 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 25,912 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employee compensation as share of government spending in Guatemala?
- Employee compensation as share of government spending in Guatemala was 32.0% 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 Guatemala?
- The highest recorded value was 49.8% in 1995.
- What is the lowest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Guatemala?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.1% in 2007.
- How does Guatemala rank for employee compensation as share of government spending?
- Guatemala ranks 57th out of 155 countries with data for 2023.
- Is employee compensation as share of government spending rising or falling in Guatemala?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Guatemala 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 — 30 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.