128 129
GOVERNMENT FINANCE AND PUBLIC MONEY
Attempting controlSocial security 24%
Interest
payments 6%
Medical
programs
25%Transport 2%
Defense 16%
Other 24%
Education 3%
The size of a government’s budget,
relative to its economy, can vary. Typically,
governments spend around 40 percent
of GDP. The graph below shows some of
the variation. South Korea’s government
spends 30 percent of GDP, but Denmark’s
spends 58 percent.GOVERNMENT SPEND
RELATIVE TO ITS ECONOMYSOUTH KOREA
30%AUSTRALIA
36%RUSSIA
39%JAPAN
43%GERMANY
45%UK
45%ITA LY
51%FRANCE
57%DENMARK
58%GREECE
61%US
20%SIZE OF GOVERNMENT SPENDING
AS % OF TOTAL ECONOMYCOUNTRYUS_128-129_Government_Spending_and_Cuts.indd 129 13/10/2016 16:19