Employee compensation as share of government spending in Romania
Romania: Employee compensation as share of government spending was 19.0% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Romania, 1980–2022
Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
Romania recorded 19.0% for employee compensation as share of government spending in 2022.
The figure is down 8.9% on the previous year and up 33.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employee compensation as share of government spending in Romania peaked at 24.0% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 2.0%, in 1985.
Romania ranks 102nd of 155 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 43 years of available data.
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Romania, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 2.1% | — |
| 1981 | 2.4% | +18.7% |
| 1982 | 2.7% | +12.0% |
| 1983 | 3.0% | +8.9% |
| 1984 | 2.7% | -8.3% |
| 1985 | 2.0% | -25.8% |
| 1986 | 6.5% | +219.8% |
| 1987 | 6.6% | +1.1% |
| 1988 | 7.3% | +11.5% |
| 1989 | 7.4% | +1.5% |
| 1990 | 13.6% | +82.6% |
| 1991 | 21.1% | +55.6% |
| 1992 | 18.6% | -11.9% |
| 1993 | 21.1% | +13.6% |
| 1994 | 20.9% | -1.1% |
| 1995 | 22.4% | +7.3% |
| 1996 | 21.6% | -3.8% |
| 1997 | 16.1% | -25.4% |
| 1998 | 15.8% | -2.0% |
| 1999 | 21.1% | +33.7% |
| 2000 | 20.0% | -5.1% |
| 2001 | 16.0% | -20.1% |
| 2002 | 17.3% | +8.4% |
| 2003 | 17.4% | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 17.4% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 18.8% | +7.8% |
| 2006 | 18.8% | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 19.4% | +3.0% |
| 2008 | 20.8% | +7.1% |
| 2009 | 19.2% | -7.6% |
| 2010 | 17.5% | -8.9% |
| 2011 | 13.7% | -21.7% |
| 2012 | 14.2% | +4.0% |
| 2013 | 15.1% | +6.3% |
| 2014 | 14.4% | -4.4% |
| 2015 | 14.1% | -2.7% |
| 2016 | 16.9% | +20.1% |
| 2017 | 17.9% | +6.1% |
| 2018 | 23.4% | +30.7% |
| 2019 | 24.0% | +2.7% |
| 2020 | 22.3% | -7.3% |
| 2021 | 20.9% | -6.3% |
| 2022 | 19.0% | -8.9% |
Romania compared with similar countries
- Romania's 19.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 18.9%, 1.0× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Romania's 19.0% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 16.4%, 1.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Employee compensation as share of government spending in Romania 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | +219.8% | 2.0% | 6.5% |
| 1990 | +82.6% | 7.4% | 13.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 4.3% | 2.0% | 7.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 19.2% | 13.6% | 22.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 18.5% | 16.0% | 20.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.1% | 13.7% | 24.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.7% | 19.0% | 22.3% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Romania
More work & labour data for Romania
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.7777 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.7486 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.8063 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -2.18 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.1264 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 10,932 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 5,465 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 5,408 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 5,360 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 10,768 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employee compensation as share of government spending in Romania?
- Employee compensation as share of government spending in Romania was 19.0% in 2022, 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 Romania?
- The highest recorded value was 24.0% in 2019.
- What is the lowest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Romania?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.0% in 1985.
- How does Romania rank for employee compensation as share of government spending?
- Romania ranks 102nd out of 155 countries with data for 2022.
- Is employee compensation as share of government spending rising or falling in Romania?
- Over the last ten years it is up 33.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Romania 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.
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About this data
Employee compensation includes wages, in-kind payments, and government contributions to social insurance schemes such as social security and pensions.