Germany vs South Africa: General government total expenditure
Germany
2.24 trillion current LCU
in 2025
South Africa
2.59 trillion current LCU
in 2025
Germany rank
61st
South Africa rank
59th
General government total expenditure over time
- Germany
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 2.59 trillion current LCU against 2.24 trillion current LCU in Germany, a difference of 350.01 billion current LCU.
That makes South Africa's figure about 1.2 times Germany's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 46 shared years of data; in 1980 it was South Africa ahead.
Germany ranks 61st and South Africa ranks 59th of 195 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Germany averaged higher in 3 and South Africa in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Germany | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0 current LCU | 0 current LCU | 0 current LCU | — |
| 1990s | 823.57 billion current LCU | 0 current LCU | 823.57 billion current LCU | Germany |
| 2000s | 1.10 trillion current LCU | 453.39 billion current LCU | 642.39 billion current LCU | Germany |
| 2010s | 1.38 trillion current LCU | 1.28 trillion current LCU | 101.14 billion current LCU | Germany |
| 2020s | 2.00 trillion current LCU | 2.23 trillion current LCU | 232.89 billion current LCU | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher general government total expenditure, Germany or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 2.59 trillion current LCU against 2.24 trillion current LCU in Germany as of 2025.
- What is the difference in general government total expenditure between Germany and South Africa?
- 350.01 billion current LCU, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and South Africa?
- 46 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2025.
- How do Germany and South Africa rank globally for general government total expenditure?
- Germany ranks 61st and South Africa ranks 59th of 195 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as General government total expenditure (current LCU). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
February 2026 Data Release