Employee compensation as share of government spending in Maldives
Maldives: Employee compensation as share of government spending was 39.1% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Maldives, 1990–2021
Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
Maldives recorded 39.1% for employee compensation as share of government spending in 2021.
The figure is down 10.8% on the previous year and down 38.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employee compensation as share of government spending in Maldives peaked at 63.1% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 18.4%, in 2007.
That places Maldives 31st out of 155 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Maldives, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 26.1% | — |
| 1991 | 28.4% | +8.8% |
| 1992 | 26.5% | -6.7% |
| 1993 | 26.3% | -1.0% |
| 1994 | 26.7% | +1.7% |
| 1995 | 26.4% | -1.0% |
| 1996 | 26.1% | -1.3% |
| 1997 | 22.8% | -12.5% |
| 1998 | 22.4% | -1.9% |
| 1999 | 23.7% | +5.8% |
| 2000 | 24.9% | +5.1% |
| 2001 | 25.7% | +3.1% |
| 2002 | 25.3% | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 24.0% | -5.0% |
| 2004 | 25.8% | +7.2% |
| 2005 | 21.0% | -18.6% |
| 2006 | 19.3% | -7.8% |
| 2007 | 18.4% | -4.8% |
| 2008 | 34.7% | +88.3% |
| 2009 | 33.6% | -3.1% |
| 2010 | 29.5% | -12.2% |
| 2011 | 63.1% | +113.8% |
| 2014 | 43.6% | -30.9% |
| 2015 | 43.6% | -0.0% |
| 2016 | 45.5% | +4.3% |
| 2017 | 49.8% | +9.5% |
| 2018 | 45.2% | -9.2% |
| 2019 | 39.8% | -12.0% |
| 2020 | 43.8% | +10.2% |
| 2021 | 39.1% | -10.8% |
Maldives compared with similar countries
- Maldives's 39.1% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 26.6%, 1.5× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Maldives's 39.1% is above the median for South Asia, which is 19.6%, 2.0× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Employee compensation as share of government spending in Maldives 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | +113.8% | 29.5% | 63.1% |
| 2008 | +88.3% | 18.4% | 34.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 25.6% | 22.4% | 28.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 25.3% | 18.4% | 34.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 45.0% | 29.5% | 63.1% | 8 |
| 2020s | 41.4% | 39.1% | 43.8% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Maldives
More work & labour data for Maldives
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.3002 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.4913 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.1384 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -0.545 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 1.23 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 310.55 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 265.89 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 257.6 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 217.32 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 474.92 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employee compensation as share of government spending in Maldives?
- Employee compensation as share of government spending in Maldives was 39.1% in 2021, 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 Maldives?
- The highest recorded value was 63.1% in 2011.
- What is the lowest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Maldives?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.4% in 2007.
- How does Maldives rank for employee compensation as share of government spending?
- Maldives ranks 31st out of 155 countries with data for 2021.
- Is employee compensation as share of government spending rising or falling in Maldives?
- Over the last ten years it is down 38.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Maldives 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 — 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.