Government Finance Statistics (GFS)

Institutional sector of government, category

Institutional sector refers to institutional units grouped together to form institutional sectors, on the basis of their principal functions, behaviour and objectives.

Government refers to unique kinds of legal entities established by political processes that have legislative, judicial or executive authority over other institutional units within a given area. Viewed as institutional units, the principal functions of government are to assume responsibility for the provision of goods and services to the community or to individual households and to finance their provision out of taxation or other incomes; to redistribute income and wealth by means of transfers; and to engage in non-market production.

The data for this variable are reported using the following classifications and/or lists:

• Government sectors