Government expenditure data availability
2025-08-28
Introduction to Government expenditure data
To distribute total government expenditures by areas or sectors, the international standard classification Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG) is used. This is one of the four classifications of expenditure according to purpose and one covering the government (others covers individual consumption, non-profit institutions serving households and outlays of producers). Several purposes of expenditure (by various actors) are identified for analysis purposes and different classifications cover these accordingly (see table below).
Table: Examples of purposes of expenditure common to more than one classification
knitr::include_graphics("Examples_of_purposes_expenditure_common_to_more_than_one_classification.png")Figure 1: Caption for the picture.
Source: United Nations (2000). Classification of expenditure according to purpose. New York: United Nations Publications, Statistical Papers, Series M No.84.Available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/classifications/Econ/Download/In%20Text/M84_complete(pdf)_english.zip
The COFOG is used to identify consumption expenditures benefiting households and also to make comparisons across countries of governments’ involvement in economic and social functions (United Nations, 2000). Whereas it is not always the case, most government expenditures can be assigned to a single function and therefore uniquely classified within the COFOG. COFOG at the highest level, the divisions, has 10 categories, namely:
01 General public services
02 Defence
03 Public order and safety
04 Economic affairs
05 Environmental protection
06 Housing and community amenities
07 Health
08 Recreation, culture and religion
09 Education
10 Social protection
The second and third level, representing subcategories of the divisions, contain 71 categories, namely:
| First level | Second and third level |
|---|---|
| 01 General public services | 01.1 Executive and legislative organs, financial and fiscal affairs, external affairs |
| 01.1.1 Executive and legislative organs (CS) | |
| 01.1.2 Financial and fiscal affairs (CS) | |
| 01.1.3 External affairs (CS) | |
| 01.2 Foreign economic aid | |
| 01.2.1 Economic aid to developing countries and countries in transition (CS) | |
| 01.2.2 Economic aid routed through international organizations (CS) | |
| 01.3 General services | |
| 01.3.1 General personnel services (CS) | |
| 01.3.2 Overall planning and statistical services (CS) | |
| 01.3.3 Other general services (CS) | |
| 01.4 Basic research | |
| 01.4.0 Basic research (CS) | |
| 01.5 R&D General public services | |
| 01.5.0 R&D General public services (CS) | |
| 01.6 General public services n.e.c. | |
| 01.6.0 General public services n.e.c. (CS) | |
| 01.7 Public debt transactions | |
| 01.7.0 Public debt transactions (CS) | |
| 01.8 Transfers of a general character between different levels of government | |
| 01.8.0 Transfers of a general character between different levels of government (CS) | |
| 02 Defence | 02.1 Military defence |
| 02.1.0 Military defence (CS) | |
| 02.2 Civil defence | |
| 02.2.0 Civil defence (CS) | |
| 02.3 Foreign military aid | |
| 02.3.0 Foreign military aid (CS) | |
| 02.4 R&D Defence | |
| 02.4.0 R&D Defence (CS) | |
| 02.5 Defence n.e.c. | |
| 02.5.0 Defence n.e.c. (CS) | |
| 03 Public order and safety | 03.1 Police services |
| 03.1.0 Police services (CS) | |
| 03.2 Fire-protection services | |
| 03.2.0 Fire-protection services (CS) | |
| 03.3 Law courts | |
| 03.3.0 Law courts (CS) | |
| 03.4 Prisons | |
| 03.4.0 Prisons (CS) | |
| 03.5 R&D Public order and safety | |
| 03.5.0 R&D Public order and safety (CS) | |
| 03.6 Public order and safety n.e.c. | |
| 03.6.0 Public order and safety n.e.c. (CS) | |
| 04 Economic affairs | 04.1 General economic, commercial and labour affairs |
| 04.1.1 General economic and commercial affairs (CS) | |
| 04.1.2 General labour affairs (CS) | |
| 04.2 Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting | |
| 04.2.1 Agriculture (CS) | |
| 04.2.2 Forestry (CS) | |
| 04.2.3 Fishing and hunting (CS) | |
| 04.3 Fuel and energy | |
| 04.3.1 Coal and other solid mineral fuels (CS) | |
| 04.3.2 Petroleum and natural gas (CS) | |
| 04.3.3 Nuclear fuel (CS) | |
| 04.3.4 Other fuels (CS) | |
| 04.3.5 Electricity (CS) | |
| 04.3.6 Non-electric energy (CS) | |
| 04.4 Mining, manufacturing and construction | |
| 04.4.1 Mining of mineral resources other than mineral fuels (CS) | |
| 04.4.2 Manufacturing (CS) | |
| 04.4.3 Construction (CS) | |
| 04.5 Transport | |
| 04.5.1 Road transport (CS) | |
| 04.5.2 Water transport (CS) | |
| 04.5.3 Railway transport (CS) | |
| 04.5.4 Air transport (CS) | |
| 04.5.5 Pipeline and other transport (CS) | |
| 04.6 Communication | |
| 04.6.0 Communication (CS) | |
| 04.7 Other industries | |
| 04.7.1 Distributive trades, storage and warehousing (CS) | |
| 04.7.2 Hotels and restaurants (CS) | |
| 04.7.3 Tourism (CS) | |
| 04.7.4 Multi-purpose development projects (CS) | |
| 04.8 R&D Economic affairs | |
| 04.8.1 R&D General economic, commercial and labour affairs (CS) | |
| 04.8.2 R&D Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (CS) | |
| 04.8.3 R&D Fuel and energy (CS) | |
| 04.8.4 R&D Mining, manufacturing and construction (CS) | |
| 04.8.5 R&D Transport (CS) | |
| 04.8.6 R&D Communication (CS) | |
| 04.8.7 R&D Other industries (CS) | |
| 04.9 Economic affairs n.e.c. | |
| 04.9.0 Economic affairs n.e.c. (CS) | |
| 05 Environmental protection | 05.1 Waste management |
| 05.1.0 Waste management (CS) | |
| 05.2 Waste water management | |
| 05.2.0 Waste water management (CS) | |
| 05.3 Pollution abatement | |
| 05.3.0 Pollution abatement (CS) | |
| 05.4 Protection of biodiversity and landscape | |
| 05.4.0 Protection of biodiversity and landscape (CS) | |
| 05.5 R&D Environmental protection | |
| 05.5.0 R&D Environmental protection (CS) | |
| 05.6 Environmental protection n.e.c. | |
| 05.6.0 Environmental protection n.e.c. (CS) | |
| 06 Housing and community amenities | 06.1 Housing development |
| 06.1.0 Housing development (CS) | |
| 06.2 Community development | |
| 06.2.0 Community development (CS) | |
| 06.3 Water supply | |
| 06.3.0 Water supply (CS) | |
| 06.4 Street lighting | |
| 06.4.0 Street lighting CS) | |
| 06.5 R&D Housing and community amenities | |
| 06.5.0 R&D Housing and community amenities (CS) | |
| 06.6 Housing and community amenities n.e.c. | |
| 06.6.0 Housing and community amenities n.e.c. (CS) | |
| 07 Health | 07.1 Medical products, appliances and equipment |
| 07.1.1 Pharmaceutical products (IS) | |
| 07.1.2 Other medical products (IS) | |
| 07.1.3 Therapeutic appliances and equipment (IS) | |
| 07.2 Outpatient services | |
| 07.2.1 General medical services (IS) | |
| 07.2.2 Specialized medical services (IS) | |
| 07.2.3 Dental services (IS) | |
| 07.2.4 Paramedical services (IS) | |
| 07.3 Hospital services | |
| 07.3.1 General hospital services (IS) | |
| 07.3.2 Specialized hospital services (IS) | |
| 07.3.3 Medical and maternity centre services (IS) | |
| 07.3.4 Nursing and convalescent home services (IS) | |
| 07.4 Public health services | |
| 07.4.0 Public health services (IS) | |
| 07.5 R&D Health | |
| 07.5.0 R&D Health (CS) | |
| 07.6 Health n.e.c. | |
| 07.6.0 Health n.e.c. (CS) | |
| 08 Recreation, culture and religion | 08.1 Recreational and sporting services |
| 08.1.0 Recreational and sporting services (IS) | |
| 08.2 Cultural services | |
| 08.2.0 Cultural services (IS) | |
| 08.3 Broadcasting and publishing services | |
| 08.3.0 Broadcasting and publishing services (CS) | |
| 08.4 Religious and other community services | |
| 08.4.0 Religious and other community services (CS) | |
| 08.5 R&D Recreation, culture and religion | |
| 08.5.0 R&D Recreation, culture and religion (CS) | |
| 08.6 Recreation, culture and religion n.e.c. | |
| 08.6.0 Recreation, culture and religion n.e.c. (CS) | |
| 09 Education | 09.1 Pre-primary and primary education |
| 09.1.1 Pre-primary education (IS) | |
| 09.1.2 Primary education (IS) | |
| 09.2 Secondary education | |
| 09.2.1 Lower-secondary education (IS) | |
| 09.2.2 Upper-secondary education (IS) | |
| 09.3 Post-secondary non-tertiary education | |
| 09.3.0 Post-secondary non-tertiary education (IS) | |
| 09.4 Tertiary education | |
| 09.4.1 First stage of tertiary education (IS) | |
| 09.4.2 Second stage of tertiary education (IS) | |
| 09.5 Education not definable by level | |
| 09.5.0 Education not definable by level (IS) | |
| 09.6 Subsidiary services to education | |
| 09.6.0 Subsidiary services to education (IS) | |
| 09.7 R&D Education | |
| 09.7.0 R&D Education (CS) | |
| 09.8 Education n.e.c. | |
| 09.8.0 Education n.e.c. CS) | |
| 10 Social protection | 10.1 Sickness and disability |
| 10.1.1 Sickness (IS) | |
| 10.1.2 Disability (IS) | |
| 10.2 Old age | |
| 10.2.0 Old age (IS) | |
| 10.3 Survivors | |
| 10.3.0 Survivors (IS) | |
| 10.4 Family and children | |
| 10.4.0 Family and children (IS) | |
| 10.5 Unemployment | |
| 10.5.0 Unemployment (IS) | |
| 10.6 Housing | |
| 10.6.0 Housing (IS) | |
| 10.7 Social exclusion n.e.c. | |
| 10.7.0 Social exclusion n.e.c. (IS) | |
| 10.8 R&D Social protection | |
| 10.8.0 R&D Social protection (CS) | |
| 10.9 Social protection n.e.c. | |
| 10.9.0 Social protection n.e.c. (CS) |