Kiribati tops IMF government spending ranking; India spends 28.4%

Governments around the world spend money on things like schools, hospitals, roads and the army.

This news article compares how much countries spend compared to how much their whole economy makes in a year.

A small island country called Kiribati spends almost as much money as its entire economy is worth.

That is 98.1 percent of its GDP.

It spends so much because it receives a lot of foreign aid and grants from other countries.

Rich countries in Europe, like Finland and France, also spend a large share of their economic output on public services.

India spends about 28 percent of its GDP on government programs.

The United States spends about 38 percent, China spends 33 percent, and South Korea spends about 22 percent.

Spending a lot of money does not always mean a country is doing a great job.

What matters is how wisely the money is used.