Public contracting is the world’s largest marketplace. One in every three dollars spent by government is on a contract with a company. How much does that add up to globally each year?

A 2020 report from the Open Contracting Partnership and Spend Network looked at this in detail: we estimated that globally, governments spend $13 trillion a year on public contracts for goods, services and works. 

We then examined the availability of public information on that spending, including key data points such as start dates, end dates, and value. We could only see this for 4% of that spending.

The study remains a benchmark for understanding the scale of public procurement and the need for complete, accessible contracting data.

The lack of accessible public information on government contracts severely hinders efforts to increase competition, especially for smaller and minority-owned businesses.

Including basic details, such as the value, and start and end dates of contracts, would provide data users with a better understanding of when pertinent contracts are due to expire. It would also improve effective oversight to reduce fraud and corruption.

Taxpayers should be able to see whether public money is being spent fairly, efficiently and in the public interest.

Read the full report analyzing the global value of public procurement and check how much your country spends.