Employee compensation as share of government spending in Tonga
Tonga: Employee compensation as share of government spending was 33.8% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Tonga, 2013–2023
Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
The most recent figure for employee compensation as share of government spending in Tonga is 33.8%, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.
That represents a change of down 9.9% on the previous year and down 22.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employee compensation as share of government spending in Tonga peaked at 45.5% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 33.8%, in 2023.
Tonga ranks 51st of 155 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Tonga, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 43.4% | — |
| 2014 | 41.8% | -3.7% |
| 2015 | 45.5% | +8.9% |
| 2016 | 43.8% | -3.7% |
| 2017 | 40.0% | -8.7% |
| 2018 | 37.9% | -5.1% |
| 2019 | 38.2% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 40.3% | +5.7% |
| 2021 | 37.6% | -6.8% |
| 2022 | 37.5% | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 33.8% | -9.9% |
Tonga compared with similar countries
- Tonga's 33.8% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 26.6%, 1.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Tonga's 33.8% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 29.6%, 1.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 41.5% | 37.9% | 45.5% | 7 |
| 2020s | 37.3% | 33.8% | 40.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Tonga
More work & labour data for Tonga
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.0076 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.0285 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.0138 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -0.0722 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 1.78 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 41.65 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 98.27 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 58.13 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 59.74 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 117.87 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employee compensation as share of government spending in Tonga?
- Employee compensation as share of government spending in Tonga was 33.8% 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 Tonga?
- The highest recorded value was 45.5% in 2015.
- What is the lowest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Tonga?
- The lowest recorded value was 33.8% in 2023.
- How does Tonga rank for employee compensation as share of government spending?
- Tonga ranks 51st out of 155 countries with data for 2023.
- Is employee compensation as share of government spending rising or falling in Tonga?
- Over the last ten years it is down 22.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Tonga 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 — 11 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.