North America - General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2010 US$)

The latest value for General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2010 US$) in North America was 3,154,760,000,000 as of 2020. Over the past 50 years, the value for this indicator has fluctuated between 3,154,760,000,000 in 2020 and 1,516,020,000,000 in 1970.

Definition: General government final consumption expenditure (formerly general government consumption) includes all government current expenditures for purchases of goods and services (including compensation of employees). It also includes most expenditures on national defense and security, but excludes government military expenditures that are part of government capital formation. Data are in constant 2010 U.S. dollars.

Source: World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files.

See also:

Year Value
1970 1,516,020,000,000
1971 1,521,780,000,000
1972 1,531,460,000,000
1973 1,526,270,000,000
1974 1,564,720,000,000
1975 1,609,150,000,000
1976 1,611,700,000,000
1977 1,643,760,000,000
1978 1,671,610,000,000
1979 1,684,520,000,000
1980 1,711,880,000,000
1981 1,739,640,000,000
1982 1,777,990,000,000
1983 1,828,050,000,000
1984 1,856,930,000,000
1985 1,944,570,000,000
1986 2,027,700,000,000
1987 2,066,280,000,000
1988 2,109,290,000,000
1989 2,172,810,000,000
1990 2,233,620,000,000
1991 2,274,000,000,000
1992 2,289,180,000,000
1993 2,287,560,000,000
1994 2,295,440,000,000
1995 2,298,680,000,000
1996 2,303,510,000,000
1997 2,340,260,000,000
1998 2,384,200,000,000
1999 2,448,720,000,000
2000 2,490,860,000,000
2001 2,579,110,000,000
2002 2,674,070,000,000
2003 2,722,940,000,000
2004 2,765,740,000,000
2005 2,789,520,000,000
2006 2,827,760,000,000
2007 2,875,240,000,000
2008 2,949,490,000,000
2009 3,070,490,000,000
2010 3,077,730,000,000
2011 2,997,060,000,000
2012 2,960,280,000,000
2013 2,907,910,000,000
2014 2,889,650,000,000
2015 2,934,780,000,000
2016 2,989,170,000,000
2017 2,996,430,000,000
2018 3,037,510,000,000
2019 3,099,030,000,000
2020 3,154,760,000,000

Development Relevance: An economy's growth is measured by the change in the volume of its output or in the real incomes of its residents. The 2008 United Nations System of National Accounts (2008 SNA) offers three plausible indicators for calculating growth: the volume of gross domestic product (GDP), real gross domestic income, and real gross national income. The volume of GDP is the sum of value added, measured at constant prices, by households, government, and industries operating in the economy. GDP accounts for all domestic production, regardless of whether the income accrues to domestic or foreign institutions.

Limitations and Exceptions: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total. Measures of growth in consumption and capital formation are subject to two kinds of inaccuracy. The first stems from the difficulty of measuring expenditures at current price levels. The second arises in deflating current price data to measure volume growth, where results depend on the relevance and reliability of the price indexes and weights used. Measuring price changes is more difficult for investment goods than for consumption goods because of the one-time nature of many investments and because the rate of technological progress in capital goods makes capturing change in quality difficult. (An example is computers - prices have fallen as quality has improved.) To obtain government consumption in constant prices, countries may deflate current values by applying a wage (price) index or extrapolate from the change in government employment. Neither technique captures improvements in productivity or changes in the quality of government services.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Gross domestic product (GDP) from the expenditure side is made up of household final consumption expenditure, general government final consumption expenditure, gross capital formation (private and public investment in fixed assets, changes in inventories, and net acquisitions of valuables), and net exports (exports minus imports) of goods and services. Such expenditures are recorded in purchaser prices and include net taxes on products.

Aggregation method: Gap-filled total

Base Period: 2010

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Economic Policy & Debt Indicators

Sub-Topic: National accounts