Countries With The Highest Government Spending To GDP Ratio The
world is in the midst of a seemingly unending sovereign debt
crisis with many nations either unwilling or unable to control
government spending. One measure that investors might use to
track these expenditures on a global basis is government
spending expressed as a percentage of GDP. TUTORIAL: Economic
Indicators: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) The top five major
countries with the highest government spending levels as a
percentage of GDP are spread across the globe, and include some
of the wealthiest nations in Europe, along with one of the
world's poorest countries. According to the Heritage Foundation,
Zimbabwe is the most profligate spender under this criterion,
with government expenditures totaling 98% of GDP in Zimbabwe in
the latest year that data was available. This includes
consumption and transfer payments, as well as direct government
spending. This doesn't necessarily mean that government spending
is increasing on an absolute basis in Z