# % of GNP - controlled by the federal government **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 31, 2004, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-gnp-controlled-by-the-federal-government/282468 "2004-12-31T19:54:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kel_Varnsen_Latex_Division)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-gnp-controlled-by-the-federal-government/282468/1 "2004-12-31T19:54:30Z")
What percentage of GNP is controlled by the federal government? ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-gnp-controlled-by-the-federal-government/282468/2 "2004-12-31T20:50:48Z")
According to the [CIA World Factbook](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html#Econ) the US GDP is $10.99 trillion dollars; federal government spending is $2.156 trillion, so that works out to 19.6%. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-gnp-controlled-by-the-federal-government/282468/3 "2004-12-31T21:20:16Z")
According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis website’s figures: [http://www.bea.gov/bea/industry/gpotables/gpo\_action.cfm?anon=59&table\_id=4127&format\_type=0](http://www.bea.gov/bea/industry/gpotables/gpo_action.cfm?anon=59&table_id=4127&format_type=0) Government (all levels) account for 12.7% of the GDP in 2003. It takes a while for the figures divided up this way to be counted up. ---
**Author:** ![Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kel_Varnsen_Latex_Division)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-gnp-controlled-by-the-federal-government/282468/4 "2004-12-31T21:42:24Z")
> [@RandomLetters](#): > > According to the [CIA World Factbook](http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html#Econ) the US GDP is $10.99 trillion dollars; federal government spending is $2.156 trillion, so that works out to 19.6%. Is this the right calculation? ---
**Author:** ![Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kel_Varnsen_Latex_Division)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-gnp-controlled-by-the-federal-government/282468/5 "2004-12-31T22:01:14Z")
I found this: [http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=3521&sequence=0](http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=3521&sequence=0) It shows the federal government was 18.4 of GDP in 2001. What is the difference between GDP and GNP desides the words domestic and national? ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-gnp-controlled-by-the-federal-government/282468/6 "2004-12-31T22:15:57Z")
The Gross National Product is the total value of all goods & services produced in a country in a year; the Gross Domestic Product is almost the same thing, but adds the income made by a country’s citizens produced in other countries, and subtracts out the income made foreigners in the country. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-gnp-controlled-by-the-federal-government/282468/7 "2004-12-31T22:41:10Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis website’s figures: > [http://www.bea.gov/bea/industry/gpotables/gpo\_action.cfm?anon=59&table\_id=4127&format\_type=0](http://www.bea.gov/bea/industry/gpotables/gpo_action.cfm?anon=59&table_id=4127&format_type=0) > > Government (all levels) account for 12.7% of the GDP in 2003. It takes a while for the figures divided up this way to be counted up. The figure they used in this paper appears way, waaaaay off. It says that the Federal government accounts for $447 billion in economic activity in 2003. However, the total amount of government spending that year was $2.1 trillion. I’m sure there is a reason that the BEA used $447 billion, but I have no idea what that reason is. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-gnp-controlled-by-the-federal-government/282468/8 "2004-12-31T23:13:33Z")
Government transfer payments are not included in the calculation of GDP, nor is money spent outside the country.