Statistics
 

Government expenditure on agriculture

February 2019

Highlights

  • Globally, the agriculture share of central government expenditure fluctuated around 1.6% between 2001 and 2017.
  • Asia & the Pacific and Africa are the regions allocating the higher percentage of central government spending to agriculture.
  • Agriculture Orientation Index (AOI) for Government Expenditures, SDG Indicator 2.a.1, was lowest for Sub-Saharan Africa, indicating low expenditure share relative to sector contribution to GDP.
  • At global level, the AOI shows declining trend: from 0.42 in 2001 to 0.26 in 2017.
  • During 2012–2016, on average, Malawi (16.4%), Bhutan (13.0%) and Uzbekistan (11.9%) had highest share of agriculture in the central government expenditure.

* The term “agriculture” includes forestry and fishing.

Global Overview

From 2001 onwards, governments allocated less than 2% of their central government expenditure to agriculture. The agriculture share of total expenditure fluctuated around 1.6%, with a peak of 1.85% in 2008 during the food price crisis, remaining, on average, under almost one-third of the sector’s contribution to GDP, which increased in the same period from 4.13 % to 6.15%.

The public underinvestment in agriculture, and the sector’s importance to economic growth and poverty alleviation, particularly in Africa, was acknowledged in the African Union’s Maputo Declaration of 2003, under which signatory nations committed to allocate 10% of government expenditures to agriculture and rural development. Though several countries were unable to attain this goal, the importance of public expenditures in agriculture was recognized in the Malabo Declaration of 2014, in which signatory nations re-committed to the 10% goal. Increasing investments in agriculture is also crucial at attainment of Goal 2 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is monitored through Agriculture Orientation Index (AOI) for Government Expenditures.

Chart 1: Share of Central Government Expenditure on Agriculture

*Other Developed refers to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.

Regional Overview

Asia & the Pacific has been the region providing the highest percentage of central government spending to agriculture between 2001 (3.85%) and 2017 (3.03%), followed by Africa, where the share has progressively declined from 3.66% (2001) to 2.30% (2017). The developed regions (Europe and other developed, which refers to Australia, Canada, New Zealand and United States) allocated the lowest share of central government expenditure to agriculture, both series fluctuating around 1%.

In 2008, during the food price crisis, all the regions (except Europe) experienced an increase in the agriculture share of central government expenditure. In particular, Asia & the Pacific and Latin America & the Caribbean registered the highest value of their whole series (respectively, 4.38% and 2.51%). [Chart 1]

Countries

The results at regional level are confirmed also at country level. Asia & the Pacific and Africa were the two regions with the highest agriculture share of central government spending, and included 9 of the top 10 countries between 2012 to 2016. This top 10 was led by Malawi (16.4%), Bhutan (13.0%), Uzbekistan (11.9%), Ethiopia (9%) and Bangladesh (8.7%).[Chart 2]

Chart 2: Top 10 countries in agricultural spending, average 2012-2016

Agriculture Orientation Index for Government Expenditures

SDG Indicator 2.a.1 – Agriculture Orientation Index (AOI) for Government Expenditures, compares the central government contribution to agriculture with the sector’s contribution to GDP. An AOI less than 1 indicates a lower orientation of the central government towards the agriculture sector relative to the sector’s contribution to the economy, while an AOI greater than 1 indicates a higher orientation of the central government towards the agriculture sector relative to the sector’s contribution to the economy.

At global level, the AOI consistently declined from 0.42 (2001) to 0.26 (2017). During this period, most of the regions remained stably under 0.5, in particular, Sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand) registered the lowest values, with time series never exceeding 0.35. The regions that experienced the highest values are Eastern & South-eastern Asia, Northern America & Europe, and Western Asia & Northern Africa. Even though, in the most recent years, the trends in these regions decreased, and their values are more in line with the other regions. [Chart 3]

Chart 3: Trends in central government spending on Agriculture for SDG regions, 2001-2017

Country Coverage

Country Coverage

The results to date reflect the fact that not all countries collect, compile and publish Government Expenditure on Agriculture data according to COFOG. Data coverage may vary by year and country.

For more detailed country data on GEA, please consult the FAOSTAT Investment domain.

Summary Tables

Summary Tables

Table 1. Agriculture share of Central Government Expenditures by SDG Region, 2001-2017

 

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

WORLD

1.75

1.59

1.46

1.49

1.52

1.73

1.76

1.85

1.60

1.52

1.56

1.55

1.53

1.49

1.62

1.61

1.60

Northern America and Europe

1.34

1.21

1.10

1.10

1.10

1.11

1.05

1.02

0.98

0.91

1.03

0.92

0.89

0.86

0.81

0.82

1.13

Latin America and the Caribbean

1.44

1.74

1.75

1.58

1.56

1.49

2.01

2.51

0.97

0.87

0.71

0.88

1.10

1.08

1.46

1.41

1.19

Central America

2.46

1.95

2.42

2.50

2.35

2.58

2.81

3.06

2.73

4.09

3.88

4.21

2.76

2.73

2.47

2.18

1.69

South America

1.22

1.37

1.28

1.33

1.29

1.24

1.85

2.56

0.87

0.73

0.55

0.71

0.57

0.56

1.13

1.16

1.03

Caribbean

1.77

2.54

2.77

1.71

2.07

1.65

1.95

1.55

1.62

1.46

1.74

1.88

1.65

1.36

1.59

1.78

1.64

Central Asia and Southern Asia

4.39

3.92

3.44

4.11

4.39

4.97

5.29

7.51

5.56

6.74

6.52

5.76

5.60

5.28

5.01

4.85

3.90

Central Asia

3.95

4.36

5.49

6.21

3.67

3.93

4.05

4.65

4.60

4.54

5.19

5.06

4.22

3.68

4.34

4.07

1.68

Southern Asia

4.40

3.91

3.37

4.03

4.43

5.02

5.36

7.68

5.61

6.92

6.66

5.83

5.75

5.47

5.06

4.91

6.61

Eastern Asia and South-eastern Asia

4.91

4.49

4.44

3.87

3.82

4.17

3.69

3.33

3.13

3.00

3.16

3.51

3.12

3.32

3.57

3.47

2.72

Eastern Asia

5.70

5.18

4.91

4.44

4.50

5.10

3.96

3.57

3.13

3.41

3.64

3.41

3.25

2.98

3.40

3.35

2.37

South-eastern Asia

3.69

3.68

3.74

3.29

2.95

3.09

3.23

3.01

3.12

2.43

2.19

3.72

2.95

4.06

4.02

3.81

3.25

Western Asia and Northern Africa

1.39

1.34

1.36

1.93

1.43

2.69

2.92

2.95

2.93

2.55

2.52

2.29

2.18

2.14

2.14

2.31

3.23

Western Asia

0.89

0.84

0.87

1.18

0.86

2.61

3.23

2.91

3.08

2.80

2.85

2.41

2.24

2.26

2.31

2.56

3.78

Northern Africa

9.87

9.45

8.87

4.51

3.25

2.86

2.17

3.04

2.58

1.81

1.64

1.88

1.90

1.59

1.47

1.35

1.38

Sub-Saharan Africa

2.81

2.90

2.48

2.71

3.43

3.34

3.74

3.39

2.88

2.43

2.62

2.55

2.32

2.47

2.41

2.58

3.04

Western Africa

4.78

6.09

2.29

3.81

4.73

6.11

5.65

5.84

4.60

2.58

2.99

2.59

2.10

4.94

5.31

4.33

3.42

Middle Africa

1.23

0.52

0.64

1.26

1.68

1.61

2.62

1.98

0.93

1.27

1.54

1.84

1.57

1.52

1.39

1.66

2.69

Eastern Africa

4.42

4.92

4.51

4.44

6.24

5.88

6.04

4.96

5.50

4.75

5.51

4.41

4.11

4.03

3.84

4.23

3.35

Southern Africa

1.99

1.95

2.24

1.84

2.31

2.12

2.63

2.38

2.08

2.12

1.96

1.97

1.81

1.84

1.69

1.78

3.06

Oceania excluding Australia and New Zealand

2.27

1.67

 

 

3.08

2.89

3.15

2.37

2.34

2.30

2.63

3.44

3.72

3.15

3.82

3.29

4.24

Australia and New Zealand

0.96

0.88

0.97

1.01

0.89

1.11

1.06

1.33

0.81

0.83

0.69

0.75

0.58

0.57

0.54

0.52

0.54

Least developed countries (LDCs)

3.73

3.73

3.08

3.87

4.99

4.54

4.87

4.01

3.81

2.09

3.83

4.09

3.81

3.59

3.96

4.16

3.67

Landlocked developing countries (LLDCs)

4.65

7.13

6.51

6.55

5.06

5.29

5.12

4.62

4.60

4.35

5.05

4.12

3.83

4.07

4.54

4.86

3.47

Small island developing States (SIDS)

0.84

1.35

1.30

0.74

0.95

0.76

0.88

0.83

0.78

0.77

1.00

1.09

1.02

0.86

0.88

0.91

0.66

 

Table 2. Agriculture value added share of GDP by SDG Region, 2001-2017

 

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

WORLD

4.13

3.96

4.04

4.08

3.94

4.16

5.11

5.24

5.32

5.48

5.53

5.56

5.89

5.60

5.79

5.83

6.15

Northern America and Europe

2.24

2.15

2.11

2.10

1.87

1.66

1.68

1.86

1.72

1.81

1.94

1.92

1.98

1.96

1.91

1.90

2.86

Latin America and the Caribbean

5.26

7.74

7.73

7.32

6.93

6.36

6.43

6.40

4.92

4.86

5.02

4.68

4.53

4.54

4.41

4.73

4.51

Central America

9.50

9.43

9.29

9.15

8.99

8.46

8.33

7.90

7.76

7.41

7.14

6.59

3.52

3.53

3.63

3.80

3.83

South America

4.78

7.99

8.09

7.44

7.04

6.35

6.47

6.53

4.83

4.80

4.96

4.62

4.97

5.01

4.77

5.17

4.79

Caribbean

2.89

4.74

3.99

2.12

2.03

2.00

1.75

1.68

2.05

1.97

3.97

3.89

3.84

3.53

4.98

5.15

5.68

Central Asia and Southern Asia

21.59

17.56

17.76

16.18

15.75

15.01

14.87

14.41

14.76

16.63

16.89

16.31

16.39

16.26

15.96

16.06

7.60

Central Asia

10.39

8.00

7.86

7.12

6.37

6.28

6.40

5.99

6.64

4.92

7.69

6.96

7.03

7.39

8.06

8.52

4.43

Southern Asia

22.02

17.86

18.09

16.54

16.17

15.51

15.38

15.00

15.23

17.55

17.87

17.36

17.54

17.26

16.71

16.61

11.82

Eastern Asia and South-eastern Asia

5.24

5.12

5.05

6.48

5.91

6.40

8.98

9.46

9.36

9.19

8.87

8.87

9.16

8.63

8.31

8.05

8.16

Eastern Asia

3.73

3.39

3.14

3.18

2.84

2.70

8.64

9.06

8.93

8.66

8.69

8.76

8.68

8.49

8.35

8.09

8.22

South-eastern Asia

7.37

7.71

7.97

9.73

9.08

9.77

10.17

10.92

11.05

11.17

10.11

9.64

11.29

9.71

7.97

7.69

7.68

Western Asia and Northern Africa

2.39

2.35

2.62

4.39

4.36

7.53

7.44

7.21

8.37

8.17

7.82

5.61

4.82

4.79

5.26

6.01

7.11

Western Asia

1.69

1.72

1.87

1.58

1.53

6.19

6.34

6.20

7.04

6.87

6.29

4.36

3.96

3.85

4.20

4.84

6.16

Northern Africa

9.42

8.30

9.29

12.24

12.51

10.86

10.36

9.86

11.49

12.51

13.02

11.29

11.27

11.34

11.39

11.77

11.49

Sub-Saharan Africa

12.31

12.76

16.28

14.04

13.78

14.14

14.29

14.86

15.72

13.96

13.69

14.79

14.82

11.83

12.53

12.55

15.53

Western Africa

27.68

27.53

32.49

26.60

25.99

25.33

25.65

25.92

28.30

23.80

22.89

21.98

20.81

20.97

24.16

19.76

28.25

Middle Africa

8.16

5.84

6.20

6.33

5.13

5.14

4.65

4.72

6.32

9.19

8.11

8.25

8.98

9.72

11.40

12.52

11.37

Eastern Africa

26.91

26.23

25.57

25.29

25.19

24.37

24.00

21.92

23.51

22.90

23.21

27.47

26.68

26.00

26.82

27.01

22.63

Southern Africa

3.35

3.90

3.27

2.96

2.60

2.54

2.89

3.07

2.96

2.65

2.54

2.46

2.24

2.32

2.21

2.31

4.12

Oceania excluding Australia and New Zealand

22.44

24.33

 

 

12.83

12.85

13.03

11.24

10.99

10.52

13.09

13.69

12.70

12.44

11.89

12.09

13.02

Australia and New Zealand

3.95

2.89

3.07

3.21

2.96

2.20

2.34

2.30

2.20

2.28

2.26

2.28

2.22

2.37

2.43

2.77

2.52

Least developed countries (LDCs)

27.51

26.24

24.98

23.79

22.78

21.22

20.97

20.67

22.55

21.38

20.79

21.08

20.33

19.97

20.31

20.46

19.61

Landlocked developing countries (LLDCs)

23.10

22.02

20.75

18.91

18.24

16.60

15.99

15.18

16.31

14.47

14.07

14.23

13.82

14.04

14.73

15.86

15.52

Small island developing States (SIDS)

3.38

3.34

3.24

3.05

3.17

2.94

2.69

2.75

2.82

2.60

2.54

2.62

2.56

2.54

2.70

2.70

2.67

 

Table 3. SDG Indicator 2.a.1, Agriculture Orientation Index (AOI) for Government Expenditures, by SDG Regions, 2001-2017

 

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

WORLD

0.42

0.40

0.36

0.37

0.39

0.42

0.35

0.35

0.30

0.28

0.28

0.28

0.26

0.27

0.28

0.28

0.26

Northern America and Europe

0.60

0.56

0.52

0.53

0.59

0.67

0.63

0.55

0.57

0.50

0.53

0.48

0.45

0.44

0.43

0.43

0.39

Latin America and the Caribbean

0.27

0.22

0.23

0.22

0.23

0.23

0.31

0.39

0.20

0.18

0.14

0.19

0.24

0.24

0.33

0.30

0.26

Central America

0.26

0.21

0.26

0.27

0.26

0.31

0.34

0.39

0.35

0.55

0.54

0.64

0.79

0.77

0.68

0.57

0.44

South America

0.25

0.17

0.16

0.18

0.18

0.19

0.29

0.39

0.18

0.15

0.11

0.15

0.11

0.11

0.24

0.22

0.21

Caribbean

0.61

0.54

0.69

0.81

1.02

0.82

1.11

0.92

0.79

0.74

0.44

0.48

0.43

0.39

0.32

0.35

0.29

Central Asia and Southern Asia

0.20

0.22

0.19

0.25

0.28

0.33

0.36

0.52

0.38

0.41

0.39

0.35

0.34

0.32

0.31

0.30

0.51

Central Asia

0.38

0.55

0.70

0.87

0.58

0.63

0.63

0.78

0.69

0.92

0.68

0.73

0.60

0.50

0.54

0.48

0.38

Southern Asia

0.20

0.22

0.19

0.24

0.27

0.32

0.35

0.51

0.37

0.39

0.37

0.34

0.33

0.32

0.30

0.30

0.56

Eastern Asia and South-eastern Asia

0.94

0.88

0.88

0.60

0.65

0.65

0.41

0.35

0.33

0.33

0.36

0.40

0.34

0.38

0.43

0.43

0.33

Eastern Asia

1.53

1.53

1.56

1.39

1.58

1.89

0.46

0.39

0.35

0.39

0.42

0.39

0.37

0.35

0.41

0.41

0.29

South-eastern Asia

0.50

0.48

0.47

0.34

0.33

0.32

0.32

0.28

0.28

0.22

0.22

0.39

0.26

0.42

0.50

0.50

0.42

Western Asia and Northern Africa

0.58

0.57

0.52

0.44

0.33

0.36

0.39

0.41

0.35

0.31

0.32

0.41

0.45

0.45

0.41

0.38

0.45

Western Asia

0.53

0.49

0.46

0.75

0.56

0.42

0.51

0.47

0.44

0.41

0.45

0.55

0.56

0.59

0.55

0.53

0.61

Northern Africa

1.05

1.14

0.95

0.37

0.26

0.26

0.21

0.31

0.22

0.14

0.13

0.17

0.17

0.14

0.13

0.11

0.12

Sub-Saharan Africa

0.23

0.23

0.15

0.19

0.25

0.24

0.26

0.23

0.18

0.17

0.19

0.17

0.16

0.21

0.19

0.21

0.20

Western Africa

0.17

0.22

0.07

0.14

0.18

0.24

0.22

0.23

0.16

0.11

0.13

0.12

0.10

0.24

0.22

0.22

0.12

Middle Africa

0.15

0.09

0.10

0.20

0.33

0.31

0.56

0.42

0.15

0.14

0.19

0.22

0.18

0.16

0.12

0.13

0.24

Eastern Africa

0.16

0.19

0.18

0.18

0.25

0.24

0.25

0.23

0.23

0.21

0.24

0.16

0.15

0.15

0.14

0.16

0.15

Southern Africa

0.59

0.50

0.69

0.62

0.89

0.83

0.91

0.78

0.70

0.80

0.77

0.80

0.81

0.79

0.76

0.77

0.74

Oceania excluding Australia and New Zealand

0.10

0.07

 

 

0.24

0.22

0.24

0.21

0.21