Employee compensation as share of government spending in Mexico
Mexico: Employee compensation as share of government spending was 9.2% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Mexico, 1972–2023
Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
Mexico recorded 9.2% for employee compensation as share of government spending in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 44 years on record.
The figure is down 1.4% on the previous year and down 23.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employee compensation as share of government spending in Mexico peaked at 39.9% in 1981 and was at its lowest, 9.2%, in 2023.
Mexico ranks 144th of 155 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 44 years of available data.
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Mexico, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 35.1% | — |
| 1973 | 34.7% | -1.0% |
| 1974 | 32.4% | -6.7% |
| 1975 | 34.1% | +5.2% |
| 1976 | 36.1% | +6.0% |
| 1977 | 38.8% | +7.3% |
| 1978 | 37.8% | -2.4% |
| 1979 | 35.1% | -7.1% |
| 1980 | 34.1% | -2.9% |
| 1981 | 39.9% | +16.8% |
| 1982 | 24.1% | -39.5% |
| 1983 | 19.2% | -20.4% |
| 1984 | 21.7% | +13.3% |
| 1985 | 20.3% | -6.4% |
| 1986 | 15.8% | -22.1% |
| 1987 | 12.4% | -22.0% |
| 1988 | 13.8% | +12.0% |
| 1989 | 16.6% | +19.9% |
| 1990 | 18.9% | +13.7% |
| 1991 | 27.2% | +44.1% |
| 1992 | 31.4% | +15.4% |
| 1993 | 22.1% | -29.6% |
| 1994 | 22.7% | +2.7% |
| 1995 | 18.9% | -16.8% |
| 1996 | 18.6% | -1.7% |
| 1997 | 15.3% | -17.3% |
| 1998 | 17.8% | +15.8% |
| 1999 | 17.9% | +0.9% |
| 2000 | 17.1% | -4.6% |
| 2009 | 12.6% | -26.4% |
| 2010 | 12.3% | -2.2% |
| 2011 | 12.0% | -2.2% |
| 2012 | 12.0% | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 12.0% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 11.8% | -1.8% |
| 2015 | 12.1% | +2.4% |
| 2016 | 11.7% | -3.3% |
| 2017 | 11.3% | -3.2% |
| 2018 | 11.0% | -2.9% |
| 2019 | 10.5% | -4.9% |
| 2020 | 10.9% | +3.8% |
| 2021 | 10.5% | -3.1% |
| 2022 | 9.3% | -11.4% |
| 2023 | 9.2% | -1.4% |
Mexico compared with similar countries
- Mexico's 9.2% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 26.6%, 35% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Mexico's 9.2% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 32.0%, 29% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Employee compensation as share of government spending in Mexico 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | +44.1% | 18.9% | 27.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 35.5% | 32.4% | 38.8% | 8 |
| 1980s | 21.8% | 12.4% | 39.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 21.1% | 15.3% | 31.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.8% | 12.6% | 17.1% | 2 |
| 2010s | 11.7% | 10.5% | 12.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.0% | 9.2% | 10.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Mexico
More work & labour data for Mexico
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.5786 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.5539 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.6038 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.41 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.5363 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 144,910 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 19,369 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 65,616 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 64,633 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 130,249 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employee compensation as share of government spending in Mexico?
- Employee compensation as share of government spending in Mexico was 9.2% 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 Mexico?
- The highest recorded value was 39.9% in 1981.
- What is the lowest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Mexico?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.2% in 2023.
- How does Mexico rank for employee compensation as share of government spending?
- Mexico ranks 144th out of 155 countries with data for 2023.
- Is employee compensation as share of government spending rising or falling in Mexico?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Mexico 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 — 44 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.