Public spending by country and region

In 2023/24, public spending per person in the UK as a whole was £12,958. In England, it was £12,625 (3% below the UK average). This compares with:

• Northern Ireland: £15,371 (19% above the UK average)
• Scotland: £14,759 (14% above the UK average)
• Wales: £14,424 (11% above the UK average).

_{Source: HM Treasury, Country and regional analysis: 2024, 20 November 2024, table A.3b}

Among the English regions, public spending per person was lowest in the East Midlands at £11,603 (10% below the UK average) and highest in London at £14,842 (15% higher than the UK average).

Across the UK, more money is spent on social protection than on any other function, followed by health. The breakdown is reasonably consistent across all countries and regions.

Almost all of the data in this briefing comes from HM Treasury’s Country and regional analysis: 2024, which also contains a detailed functional breakdown and a database that can be used for further analysis.