Employee compensation as share of government spending in Poland
Poland: Employee compensation as share of government spending was 12.3% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Poland, 1994–2023
Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
In 2023, employee compensation as share of government spending in Poland stood at 12.3%. That is the lowest value across all 30 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.0% on the previous year and down 10.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employee compensation as share of government spending in Poland peaked at 18.2% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 12.3%, in 2023.
That places Poland 131st out of 155 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 30 years of available data.
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Poland, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 14.3% | — |
| 1995 | 17.2% | +20.4% |
| 1996 | 15.1% | -12.1% |
| 1997 | 18.0% | +19.1% |
| 1998 | 18.2% | +1.3% |
| 1999 | 12.8% | -29.9% |
| 2000 | 13.0% | +1.4% |
| 2001 | 13.3% | +2.6% |
| 2002 | 13.7% | +3.0% |
| 2003 | 14.2% | +3.7% |
| 2004 | 13.8% | -2.6% |
| 2005 | 14.3% | +3.6% |
| 2006 | 14.1% | -1.5% |
| 2007 | 14.3% | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 14.4% | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 14.2% | -1.5% |
| 2010 | 14.1% | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 14.1% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 13.7% | -2.9% |
| 2013 | 13.7% | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 14.2% | +3.6% |
| 2015 | 14.2% | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 14.1% | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 14.1% | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 14.0% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 14.1% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 12.3% | -12.2% |
| 2021 | 12.9% | +4.6% |
| 2022 | 12.6% | -2.8% |
| 2023 | 12.3% | -2.0% |
Poland compared with similar countries
- Poland's 12.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 18.9%, 65% of the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Poland's 12.3% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 16.4%, 75% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Employee compensation as share of government spending in Poland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | -29.9% | 18.2% | 12.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 15.9% | 12.8% | 18.2% | 6 |
| 2000s | 13.9% | 13.0% | 14.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.0% | 13.7% | 14.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.5% | 12.3% | 12.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Poland
More work & labour data for Poland
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -1.03 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -1.03 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -1.04 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -2.28 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate -0.0452 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 22,799 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 9,591 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 9,786 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 9,544 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 19,330 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employee compensation as share of government spending in Poland?
- Employee compensation as share of government spending in Poland was 12.3% 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 Poland?
- The highest recorded value was 18.2% in 1998.
- What is the lowest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Poland?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.3% in 2023.
- How does Poland rank for employee compensation as share of government spending?
- Poland ranks 131st out of 155 countries with data for 2023.
- Is employee compensation as share of government spending rising or falling in Poland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Poland 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.