Public industry spending and services are being stress tested by scale as countries fund defense, education, energy, and healthcare at dizzying levels. In 2023, China’s state-owned coal industry alone produced 4.66 billion metric tons, yet public hospitals handled billions of interactions across major systems. This post brings those datasets into one place, showing where budgets rise, where capacity concentrates, and where demand keeps surging.
Key Takeaways
- In FY2022, US public defense budget was $877 billion, 13.1% of federal spending
- UK's public MOD expenditure was £52.6 billion in 2022/23
- China's public defense budget reached ¥1.55 trillion ($225 billion) in 2023
- In 2022, US public K-12 schools enrolled 49.6 million students with 3.2 million teachers
- UK's public schools educated 8.9 million pupils in 2022/23
- China's public education system had 292 million students from primary to tertiary in 2022
- In 2022, the US public electric utilities industry generated 4,178 billion kWh of electricity, accounting for 99.8% of total US electricity generation from utility-scale facilities
- The UK's public water and sewerage sector supplied 16.2 billion cubic meters of water in 2021-22 while treating 15.8 billion cubic meters of wastewater
- In 2023, China's state-owned coal industry produced 4.66 billion metric tons of coal, representing 50.2% of global coal production
- In 2022, US public hospitals treated 36.7 million inpatient discharges with average stay of 4.6 days
- UK's NHS public healthcare system had 13.2 million inpatient admissions in 2022/23
- China's public hospitals numbered 36,500 with 7.5 billion outpatient visits in 2022
- US public rail freight moved 1.05 trillion ton-miles in 2022
- China's public high-speed rail network spanned 42,000 km in 2023, carrying 3.6 billion passengers
- EU public passenger air transport carried 683 million passengers in 2022
Across defense, education, utilities, health, and transport, public spending and service scale far exceed individual budgets worldwide.
Related reading
01 · Category
Defense Sector18 stats
01
In FY2022, US public defense budget was $877 billion, 13.1% of federal spending
02
UK's public MOD expenditure was £52.6 billion in 2022/23
03
China's public defense budget reached ¥1.55 trillion ($225 billion) in 2023
04
India's public defense allocation was ₹5.93 lakh crore ($71 billion) in FY2023-24
05
France's public defense spending was €53.6 billion in 2023, 2% of GDP
06
Germany's public Bundeswehr budget was €52 billion in 2022
07
Russia's public defense expenditure was 6.2 trillion rubles ($84 billion) in 2022
08
Saudi Arabia's public defense budget was $69 billion in 2022
09
Japan's public defense outlay was ¥6.8 trillion ($51 billion) in FY2023
10
Australia's public defense spending reached A$52.6 billion in 2022/23
11
Italy's public defense budget was €26.1 billion in 2022
12
Brazil's public defense allocation was R$133.7 billion in 2023
13
Turkey's public defense spending was $15.8 billion in 2022
14
South Korea's public defense budget was 57.1 trillion won ($44 billion) in 2023
15
Canada's public defense expenditure was CAD$26.9 billion in 2022/23
16
Spain's public defense budget was €12.5 billion in 2022
17
Netherlands public defense spending was €14.5 billion in 2022
18
Poland's public defense budget surged to 126 billion PLN ($32 billion) in 2023
Interpretation
Defense Sector Interpretation
Across major defense sectors, public spending remains consistently huge and nationally scaled, ranging from the US at $877 billion in FY2022 to China at ¥1.55 trillion in 2023 and India at ₹5.93 lakh crore in FY2023-24, underscoring how governments prioritize defense with top-tier budgets even as the figures vary widely by country.
02 · Category
Education Sector16 stats
01
In 2022, US public K-12 schools enrolled 49.6 million students with 3.2 million teachers
02
UK's public schools educated 8.9 million pupils in 2022/23
03
China's public education system had 292 million students from primary to tertiary in 2022
04
India's public schools enrolled 250 million students in 2021-22
05
France's public education covered 12.3 million students with €140 billion budget in 2022
06
Germany's public schools had 8.2 million pupils and 800,000 teachers in 2022
07
Brazil's public education enrolled 47 million students in basic education 2022
08
Japan's public schools had 10.3 million elementary and secondary students in 2022
09
Australia's public schools educated 4 million students in 2022
10
Canada's public K-12 enrolled 5.3 million students in 2021/22
11
Italy's public education system served 8.7 million students in 2022/23
12
Spain's public schools had 4.1 million primary students in 2022
13
South Korea's public education had 5.8 million K-12 students in 2022
14
Mexico's public SEP enrolled 25 million students in basic education 2022
15
Sweden's public compulsory schools had 1 million students in 2022
16
Poland's public schools educated 4.8 million students in 2022/23
Interpretation
Education Sector Interpretation
Across the public education sector, enrollment is massive and largely teacher-supported, ranging from 49.6 million K to 12 students in the US with 3.2 million teachers to China’s 292 million students from primary to tertiary, highlighting how publicly funded systems must scale staffing and budgets to serve hundreds of millions of learners.
03 · Category
Energy Sector19 stats
01
In 2022, the US public electric utilities industry generated 4,178 billion kWh of electricity, accounting for 99.8% of total US electricity generation from utility-scale facilities
02
The UK's public water and sewerage sector supplied 16.2 billion cubic meters of water in 2021-22 while treating 15.8 billion cubic meters of wastewater
03
In 2023, China's state-owned coal industry produced 4.66 billion metric tons of coal, representing 50.2% of global coal production
04
EU public renewable energy sector capacity reached 344 GW in 2022, with wind power at 178 GW and solar at 132 GW contributing 22% of electricity
05
India's public oil and gas sector, led by ONGC and GAIL, produced 30.5 million metric tons of crude oil in FY2022-23
06
In 2021, Brazil's Petrobras public energy firm extracted 2.9 million barrels of oil equivalent per day
07
Australia's public electricity generation from coal was 127 TWh in 2022, down 7% from prior year
08
France's public nuclear power plants produced 280 TWh in 2022, 61% of national electricity
09
Saudi Arabia's public Aramco produced 10.95 million barrels per day of oil in 2022
10
Canada's public hydroelectric sector generated 379 TWh in 2022, 59% of total electricity
11
Japan's public gas utilities distributed 94.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas in FY2022
12
Germany's public energy transition invested €52 billion in renewables in 2022
13
Mexico's public CFE generated 248 TWh in 2022, 70% from fossil fuels
14
South Africa's Eskom public utility produced 208 TWh in FY2022/23
15
Russia's Gazprom public gas exports to Europe fell to 100.9 bcm in 2022
16
Norway's public hydropower output was 138 TWh in 2022, 88% of electricity
17
Indonesia's public PLN distributed electricity to 85 million customers in 2022
18
Turkey's public energy production reached 336 TWh in 2022
19
Egypt's public gas production was 58.6 bcm in 2022
Interpretation
Energy Sector Interpretation
In the energy sector, public industry is overwhelmingly dominant in electricity with US public utilities generating 4,178 billion kWh in 2022, while EU public renewables surged to 344 GW in 2022, showing a clear shift in public-scale energy from sheer supply to rapid clean power expansion.
More related reading
04 · Category
Healthcare Sector17 stats
01
In 2022, US public hospitals treated 36.7 million inpatient discharges with average stay of 4.6 days
02
UK's NHS public healthcare system had 13.2 million inpatient admissions in 2022/23
03
China's public hospitals numbered 36,500 with 7.5 billion outpatient visits in 2022
04
India's public health sector vaccinated 2.2 billion COVID doses by 2023 via public system
05
Canada's public Medicare covered 29 million people with 13 million hospital stays in 2021/22
06
Australia's public Medicare funded 450 million services in 2022/23
07
France's public health system reimbursed €252 billion in expenditures in 2022
08
Germany's public health insurance covered 73 million with €300 billion spending in 2022
09
Brazil's SUS public health served 190 million with 1 billion consultations in 2022
10
Japan's public health insurance covered 126 million with 1.2 billion outpatient visits in 2022
11
Italy's SSN public health had 6.8 million hospital admissions in 2022
12
Spain's SNS public system performed 15 million surgeries in 2022
13
South Korea's public health covered 97% population with 1.4 billion claims in 2022
14
Mexico's IMSS public institute insured 60 million with 400 million consultations in 2022
15
Sweden's public healthcare had 1.3 million inpatient days per 100,000 in 2022
16
Netherlands public health expenditure was €112 billion or 10.2% GDP in 2022
17
Norway's public hospitals treated 900,000 discharges in 2022
Interpretation
Healthcare Sector Interpretation
Across the healthcare sector, public systems are moving huge volumes of care, from the US treating 36.7 million inpatient discharges in 2022 and the UK recording 13.2 million admissions in 2022 to China’s 7.5 billion outpatient visits in 2022, showing how public providers are managing patient demand at massive scale.
05 · Category
Transportation Sector19 stats
01
US public rail freight moved 1.05 trillion ton-miles in 2022
02
China's public high-speed rail network spanned 42,000 km in 2023, carrying 3.6 billion passengers
03
EU public passenger air transport carried 683 million passengers in 2022
04
India's public Indian Railways transported 6.5 billion passengers and 1.4 billion tons freight in FY2022-23
05
UK's public bus services provided 4.2 billion passenger journeys in 2022/23
06
Japan's public Shinkansen bullet trains ran 370,000 services in 2022
07
Brazil's public aviation handled 110 million passengers in 2022
08
Australia's public road freight carried 300 billion tonne-km in 2021-22
09
France's public SNCF rail network moved 1.2 billion passengers in 2022
10
Saudi Arabia's public railways transported 5.2 million tons of freight in 2022
11
Canada's public VIA Rail carried 4.1 million passengers in 2022/23
12
South Korea's public KTX high-speed rail served 58 million passengers in 2022
13
Mexico's public airports handled 118 million passengers in 2022
14
Germany's public DB rail freight was 0.25 billion tons in 2022
15
Italy's public highways managed 500 million vehicles in 2022
16
Spain's public AVE high-speed rail covered 3,200 km, 25 million passengers in 2022
17
Poland's public railways carried 250 million passengers in 2022
18
Netherlands public Schiphol airport saw 61 million passengers in 2022
19
Sweden's public SJ rail transported 32 million passengers in 2022
Interpretation
Transportation Sector Interpretation
Across the transportation sector, rail and passenger mobility are scaling fast, with India’s public railways alone moving 6.5 billion passengers in FY2022-23 and China’s high-speed network reaching 42,000 km in 2023 while carrying 3.6 billion passengers.
report visual · Key figures
Public Industry Snapshot
Public defense and public education key indicators highlight how spending and capacity vary across countries and sectors.
13.1%
In FY2022, US public defense budget was $877 billion, 13.1% of federal spending
£52.6 billion
UK's public MOD expenditure was £52.6 billion in 2022/23
$225 billion
China's public defense budget reached ¥1.55 trillion ($225 billion) in 2023
$71 billion
India's public defense allocation was ₹5.93 lakh crore ($71 billion) in FY2023-24
€140 billion
France's public education covered 12.3 million students with €140 billion budget in 2022
292
China's public education system had 292 million students from primary to tertiary in 2022
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Priya Chandrasekaran. (2026, February 13). Public Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/public-industry-statistics
MLA
Priya Chandrasekaran. "Public Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/public-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Priya Chandrasekaran. 2026. "Public Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/public-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
86 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level