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The ICP provides data on the global distribution of the expenditure components of GDP, such as expenditure by individuals and households, by government, and on investment.1
Figure 3 shows the distribution of expenditure on actual individual consumption (AIC), a measure to assess average material well-being, defined as individual consumption expenditure by households, plus individual consumption expenditure by government, plus individual consumption expenditure by nonprofit institutions serving households (NPISHs). The United States accounted for just under one-fifth of AIC across the world. Overall, six economies accounted for around half of all global AIC expenditure.
Figure 4 provides an overview of the regional and income group distribution of global expenditure for a selection of the expenditure components within AIC, while figure 5 shows the share of nominal GDP that is spent on these components in each income group or region.
Of note, Sub-Saharan Africa had a greater share of global expenditure on food and non-alcoholic beverages (nearly 7 percent) than its share of global health expenditure (2 percent). This outcome is reflected also in these expenditure components’ share of nominal GDP in the region: food and non-alcoholic beverages accounted for nearly 25 percent of GDP, about six times as much as was spent on health.
Despite high-income economies contributing nearly half of global GDP, the group collectively accounted for around one-third of global expenditure on food and non-alcoholic beverages and for just over one-third of global spending on actual education. Furthermore, this income group, representing 16 percent of the global population, accounted for more than half of global expenditure on health and allocated more than 11 percent of its collective GDP to that component. Much of this spending was due to the large North American share of global health spending (around one-fifth) and the relatively high cost of health care in the United States (double the world average).
On average, around 11 percent of GDP was spent on housing and utilities (water, electricity, gas, and other fuels), ranging from around 9 percent in East Asia and Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa to nearly 13 percent in Europe and Central Asia and North America. Globally, around 5 percent was spent on education, and there is relatively little variation between regions and income groups for this category of spending (figure 5).
Government Consumption
Figure 6 shows consumption expenditure by government. China had the largest share, accounting for around 16 percent of the global total.
Investment
Figure 7 shows expenditure on investment as defined by gross fixed capital formation (GFCF). China had by far the largest share of expenditure on investment, nearly double that of the United States and equating to more nearly one-third of global investment.
1/ PPPs are statistical estimates and should be treated as approximations of true values, subject to sampling, measurement, and classification errors. They should not be used as indicators of currency under- or overvaluation. ICP Results are based on data supplied by participating economies to the global and regional implementing agencies, and produced in accordance with ICP methodology. Results are not deemed to be national official statistics.