Government at a Glance 2023
Germany
Trust and satisfaction with public services
Trust in public institutions and satisfaction with public services are important yardsticks of the quality of public governance. They reflect people’s perceptions of government competence in designing and delivering policies and services, and expectations on the behaviour of public institutions and their representatives. Although high trust in public institutions is not a necessary outcome of democratic governance, trust and satisfaction with public services facilitate effective governance, as they correlate with high rates of compliance with policies, participation in public life and social cohesion.
Satisfaction with healthcare and the judiciary system in Germany is above the OECD average. People’s satisfaction with the healthcare system was 79% and 70% with the judiciary system, compared to 68% and 56%, respectively, on average across OECD countries. However, 62% of Germans reported being satisfied with the education system, 5 percentage points below the OECD average (67%).
What resources public institutions use and how they are managed
After stark deterioration due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which required emergency measures and direct support mechanisms to business and people, public finances show positive signs, but the recovery remains fragile. The fiscal balance is the difference between a government’s revenues and its expenditures in a year. When the government spends more than it collects, it has a fiscal deficit. When it spends less, it has a fiscal surplus.
In 2021, Germany had a fiscal deficit of 3.7% of GDP, which was lower than the average deficit across OECD countries (7.5%). Germany’s public debt was also lower than the OECD average, 79.3% of GDP in 2021 compared to 120.8% on average across OECD countries. The debt ratio declined to 65.3% in 2022.
Public investment can enhance productivity and economic growth and help implement long-term policies, such as green energy infrastructure to support action on climate change. In turn, governments procure large amounts of goods, services and works to help them implement policies and deliver public services.
Germany spent on public procurement 18.1% of GDP in 2021, more than the OECD average (12.9%). Germany’s investment spending as a share of GDP was 2.6% in 2021, compared to 3.4% on average in OECD countries.
The size of public employment varies significantly among OECD countries, ranging from around 10% to just above 30%.
In Germany, public employment as a share of total employment in 2021 is one of the lowest among OECD countries, 11.1% compared to 18.6 on OECD average.
Equal representation of women and men in the public sector is a key indicator of progress towards gender equality, diversity and better representation. In 2020, a majority of employees in the public sector in OECD countries were women (58.9%), with large differences among countries. However, women are often under-represented in managerial positions.
The representation of women in senior management positions in the German national administration has increased since 2011, from 15.6% to 30.2% in 2021. Yet, the share is still 11 percentage points lower than the OECD average (40.8%) and well below gender parity. Germany has achieved gender equality in ministerial positions, with 50% women.
Young people are under-represented in public and political life across the OECD, with the risk that their voice and interests are not sufficiently taken in consideration in policymaking.
The average age of German cabinet members is 53 years, similar to the OECD average.
About the report
Government at a Glance presents the most up-to-date internationally comparable data on how public administrations function and perform in OECD countries, accession countries, and other major economies. Country factsheets highlight key indicators against the OECD average. Data included in the factsheets are derived from the new Government at a Glance data portal, which allows for a more user-friendly and interactive way of comparing countries with each other and the OECD average. The factsheets do not provide a comprehensive picture of public governance performance, but rather a snapshot of key indicators in the three sections of the publication: a) trust and satisfaction with public services; b) achieving results with good governance practices and c) what resources public institutions use and how they are managed.
Figure notes
People who express satisfaction with public services: for the judiciary and the courts the data reflect the proportion of citizens who express having confidence in the institution. Data on satisfaction with administrative services come from the OECD 2021 Survey on the Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions. Data on satisfaction with the education and health systems and confidence in the judiciary are from the Gallup World Poll. Data for satisfaction in administrative services are not available for Germany.
Data on public finance and economics are derived from the System of National Accounts (SNA) and were extracted on 5 May 2023.
Fiscal balance as reported in SNA framework, also referred to as net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) of government, is calculated as total government revenues minus total government expenditures.
Government gross debt is reported according to the SNA definition, which differs from the definition applied under the Maastricht Treaty. It is defined as all liabilities that require payment or payments of interest or principal by the debtor to the creditor at a date or dates in the future. All debt instruments are liabilities, but some liabilities such as shares, equity and financial derivatives are not debt.
Public employment refers to employment in the general government as defined in the System of National Accounts (SNA). Data on employment in general government were extracted on 17 April 2023.
Data on employment in general government for Iceland, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Türkiye and the United States are from the International Labour Organization (ILO), ILOSTAT.
Data show women as a share of cabinet members who head ministries as of 1 January 2023 (excluding ministers without portfolios).
The data on age of cabinet members reflects the situation as of 20 December 2022.
OECD average refers to the unweighted average with the exception of public finance indicators.
For more information see www.oecd.org/governance/government-at-a-glance.htm
