Employee compensation as share of government spending in Italy
Italy: Employee compensation as share of government spending was 10.9% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Italy, 1973–2023
Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
Italy recorded 10.9% for employee compensation as share of government spending in 2023.
The figure is down 3.1% on the previous year and down 19.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employee compensation as share of government spending in Italy peaked at 18.9% in 1973 and was at its lowest, 10.2%, in 1986.
Italy ranks 137th of 155 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 46 years of available data.
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Italy, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 18.9% | — |
| 1974 | 18.0% | -4.8% |
| 1975 | 15.3% | -15.3% |
| 1976 | 14.8% | -3.3% |
| 1977 | 15.7% | +6.2% |
| 1978 | 12.9% | -17.8% |
| 1979 | 12.9% | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 12.7% | -2.0% |
| 1986 | 10.2% | -19.4% |
| 1987 | 10.5% | +3.3% |
| 1988 | 13.2% | +25.8% |
| 1989 | 12.7% | -4.2% |
| 1990 | 13.2% | +4.0% |
| 1991 | 12.9% | -2.1% |
| 1992 | 11.9% | -8.2% |
| 1993 | 11.4% | -3.6% |
| 1994 | 11.3% | -1.4% |
| 1995 | 12.7% | +12.2% |
| 1996 | 13.5% | +6.5% |
| 1997 | 13.9% | +3.4% |
| 1998 | 14.1% | +1.1% |
| 1999 | 14.0% | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 14.5% | +3.3% |
| 2001 | 14.6% | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 14.9% | +2.2% |
| 2003 | 15.5% | +3.8% |
| 2004 | 15.3% | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 15.5% | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 15.0% | -2.9% |
| 2007 | 15.1% | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 14.5% | -4.2% |
| 2009 | 14.2% | -2.3% |
| 2010 | 14.3% | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 14.1% | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 13.5% | -3.7% |
| 2013 | 13.5% | -0.0% |
| 2014 | 13.4% | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 13.1% | -2.1% |
| 2016 | 13.3% | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 13.4% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 13.5% | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 13.5% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 12.3% | -9.2% |
| 2021 | 11.8% | -4.2% |
| 2022 | 11.2% | -4.4% |
| 2023 | 10.9% | -3.1% |
Italy compared with similar countries
- Italy's 10.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 18.9%, 58% of the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Italy's 10.9% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 16.4%, 66% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Employee compensation as share of government spending in Italy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | +25.8% | 10.5% | 13.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 15.5% | 12.9% | 18.9% | 7 |
| 1980s | 11.9% | 10.2% | 13.2% | 5 |
| 1990s | 12.9% | 11.3% | 14.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.9% | 14.2% | 15.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.6% | 13.1% | 14.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.5% | 10.9% | 12.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Italy
More work & labour data for Italy
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.6708 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.6794 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.662 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -2.03 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.0094 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 44,671 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 10,422 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 17,512 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 17,865 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 35,377 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employee compensation as share of government spending in Italy?
- Employee compensation as share of government spending in Italy was 10.9% 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 Italy?
- The highest recorded value was 18.9% in 1973.
- What is the lowest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Italy?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.2% in 1986.
- How does Italy rank for employee compensation as share of government spending?
- Italy ranks 137th out of 155 countries with data for 2023.
- Is employee compensation as share of government spending rising or falling in Italy?
- Over the last ten years it is down 19.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Italy 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 — 46 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.