Anatomy of a Budget
Pick two governments and follow the money: where it comes from, where it goes, and how much is borrowed.
Governments like to present themselves as forces for freedom, justice and equality. Behind that façade sit the numbers: what a state takes in, and what it spends. Here are those numbers for six of the world's largest economies in 2025: the United States, China, Germany, the United Kingdom, India and Japan.
How to use it
Pick two countries. On each page the top map shows where the money comes from and the bottom one where it goes, drawn so that a bigger budget takes up more paper. Hover over a tile for its figures and click it to break it down. The figures can be shown in US dollars, as shares of the total or as a percentage of GDP, at market exchange rates or in PPP.
What is counted
Every level of government is counted together, with the transfers between them taken out, so a dollar passed from a federal budget to a state is only counted where it is finally spent. The borrowing that closes the gap between revenue and spending is shown as its own tile. Dollar figures use the IMF's 2025 average exchange rates; India's figures are for its 2025/26 fiscal year. Every figure carries its source and says whether it is official, provisional or estimated.
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