| Code | NE.CON.GOVT.KN |
| Indicator Name | General government final consumption expenditure (constant LCU) |
| Short definition | Final consumption expenditure is expenditure on goods and services by resident institutional units for the direct satisfaction of human needs or wants, whether individual or collective. General government FCE includes all government current expenditures for purchases of goods and services (including compensation of employees), and most expenditures on national defense and security, but excludes government military expenditures that are part of government capital formation. This indicator is expressed in constant prices, meaning the series has been adjusted to account for price changes over time. The reference year for this adjustment varies by country. This series is expressed in local currency units. |
| Long definition | Final consumption expenditure is expenditure on goods and services by resident institutional units for the direct satisfaction of human needs or wants, whether individual or collective. General government FCE includes all government current expenditures for purchases of goods and services (including compensation of employees), and most expenditures on national defense and security, but excludes government military expenditures that are part of government capital formation. This indicator is expressed in constant prices, meaning the series has been adjusted to account for price changes over time. The reference year for this adjustment varies by country. This series is expressed in local currency units. |
| Source | Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks;
National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD);
Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) |
| Topic | Economic Policy & Debt: National accounts: Local currency at constant prices: Expenditure on GDP |
| Dataset | WDI |
| Unit of measure | constant LCU |
| Periodicity | Annual |
| Reference period | 1960-2024 |
| Statistical concept and methodology | Methodology: National accounts are compiled in accordance with international standards: System of National Accounts, 2008 or 1993 versions. Specific information on how countries compile their national accounts can be found on the IMF website: https://dsbb.imf.org/
Statistical concept(s): The conceptual elements of the SNA (System of National Accounts) measure what takes place in the economy, between which agents, and for what purpose. At the heart of the SNA is the production of goods and services. These may be used for consumption in the period to which the accounts relate or may be accumulated for use in a later period. In simple terms, the amount of value added generated by production represents GDP. The income corresponding to GDP is distributed to the various agents or groups of agents as income and it is the process of distributing and redistributing income that allows one agent to consume the goods and services produced by another agent or to acquire goods and services for later consumption. The way in which the SNA captures this pattern of economic flows is to identify the activities concerned by recognizing the institutional units in the economy and by specifying the structure of accounts capturing the transactions relevant to one stage or another of the process by which goods and services are produced and ultimately consumed. |
| Development relevance | This indicator is related to the national accounts, which are critical for understanding and managing a country's economy. They provide a framework for the analysis of economic performance. National accounts are the basis for estimating the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross National Income (GNI), which are the most widely used indicator of economic performance. They are essential for government policymakers, providing the data needed to design and assess fiscal and monetary policies; and are also used by businesses and investors to assess the economic climate and make investment decisions. NAS enable comparison between economies, which is crucial for international trade, investment decisions, and economic competitiveness. More specifically, this indicator is related to the expenditure approach used to calculate GDP, which focuses on the total amount of spending on final goods and services within an economy over a specific period. Unlike the production approach, which looks at the supply side by summing the value of output produced by all sectors, the expenditure approach looks at the demand side by summing all expenditures. This demand-side analysis provides insights into the spending behaviors of different sectors, including households, businesses, the government, and foreign entities. Also, by breaking down expenditures into categories like consumption, investment, government spending, and net exports, it helps identify which components are driving or hindering economic growth. This approach can thus be used to assess the effectiveness of fiscal and monetary policies. Overall, the expenditure approach is crucial for understanding the dynamics of an economy, guiding policy decisions, and providing a comprehensive view of economic activity from the perspective of total spending. |
| License URL | https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/public-licenses#cc-by |
| License Type | CC BY-4.0 |
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