Employee compensation as share of government spending in Peru
Peru: Employee compensation as share of government spending was 15.6% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Peru, 1972–2021
Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
In 2021, employee compensation as share of government spending in Peru stood at 15.6%. That is the lowest value across all 38 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 6.5% on the previous year and down 8.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employee compensation as share of government spending in Peru peaked at 40.0% in 1972 and was at its lowest, 15.6%, in 2021.
That places Peru 116th out of 155 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 38 years of available data.
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Peru, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 40.0% | — |
| 1973 | 37.5% | -6.2% |
| 1974 | 38.1% | +1.6% |
| 1975 | 34.4% | -9.7% |
| 1976 | 30.5% | -11.5% |
| 1977 | 34.0% | +11.4% |
| 1990 | 18.3% | -46.0% |
| 1991 | 18.5% | +1.1% |
| 1992 | 17.1% | -7.5% |
| 1993 | 18.8% | +10.0% |
| 1994 | 19.2% | +2.0% |
| 1995 | 19.4% | +0.7% |
| 1996 | 19.2% | -1.1% |
| 1997 | 21.4% | +11.9% |
| 1998 | 24.2% | +12.7% |
| 1999 | 22.4% | -7.1% |
| 2000 | 22.4% | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 22.4% | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 22.7% | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 22.9% | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 21.1% | -7.8% |
| 2005 | 20.1% | -4.8% |
| 2006 | 19.7% | -2.2% |
| 2007 | 17.3% | -11.9% |
| 2008 | 17.5% | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 18.1% | +3.2% |
| 2010 | 17.5% | -3.0% |
| 2011 | 17.1% | -2.4% |
| 2012 | 17.8% | +3.8% |
| 2013 | 18.4% | +3.7% |
| 2014 | 18.9% | +2.5% |
| 2015 | 18.6% | -1.7% |
| 2016 | 20.4% | +9.8% |
| 2017 | 19.5% | -4.4% |
| 2018 | 19.6% | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 19.0% | -3.5% |
| 2020 | 16.7% | -11.8% |
| 2021 | 15.6% | -6.5% |
Peru compared with similar countries
- Peru's 15.6% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 26.6%, 59% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Peru's 15.6% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 32.0%, 49% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Employee compensation as share of government spending in Peru 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | -46.0% | 34.0% | 18.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 35.7% | 30.5% | 40.0% | 6 |
| 1990s | 19.9% | 17.1% | 24.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 20.4% | 17.3% | 22.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.7% | 17.1% | 20.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.2% | 15.6% | 16.7% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Peru
More work & labour data for Peru
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.4349 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.4225 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.4473 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.29 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.6786 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 35,667 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 5,953 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 19,027 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 19,136 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 38,163 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employee compensation as share of government spending in Peru?
- Employee compensation as share of government spending in Peru was 15.6% 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 Peru?
- The highest recorded value was 40.0% in 1972.
- What is the lowest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Peru?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.6% in 2021.
- How does Peru rank for employee compensation as share of government spending?
- Peru ranks 116th out of 155 countries with data for 2021.
- Is employee compensation as share of government spending rising or falling in Peru?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Peru 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 — 38 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.