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Mr. Ernie Ross
asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the gross domestic product of each European Economic Community country is taken up by public expenditure.
Mr. Biffen
The information which is available on an internationally comparable basis relates to the general Government sector and does not cover public corporations.The latest information is given below:
| General Government expenditure* as a percentage of gross domestic product at market prices | |
| 1977 | |
| Belgium | 46·7 |
| Denmark | N/A |
| France | 44·1 |
| Irish Republic | 47·4† |
| Italy | 46·0 |
| Luxembourg | 51·9 |
| Netherlands | 55·8 |
| United Kingdom | 44·3 |
| West Germany | 44·4 |
| * Expenditure by central and local government combined, excluding capital transfers, loans and expenditure on the acquisition of company securities, for which figures on an internationally comparable basis are not available. | |
| †1976 | |
Source: National accounts of OECD countries 1960–77 Volume II.