public sector

American  

noun

1. the area of the nation's affairs under governmental rather than private control.

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public sector British  

noun

1. the part of an economy that consists of state-owned institutions, including nationalized industries and services provided by local authorities Compare private sector

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public sector Cultural  

1. That part of the economy controlled by the government. (Compare private sector.)

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Etymology

Origin of public sector

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

Office users from the public sector are among the buyers.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

In the Philippines, some government offices have mandated that staff work from home at least one day a week, while President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has banned non-essential travel in the public sector.

From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026

The budget rules also require that the stock of debt—measured as public sector net financial liabilities—should be falling by the fiscal year ending in 2030.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026

A year later, it laid out plans for an independent sovereign cloud service in Europe, saying the project would help public sector organizations and customers in highly regulated industries to navigate evolving data-storage requirements.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 2, 2026

Greece   Greece has a capitalist economy with the public sector   accounting for about 40% of GDP and with per capita GDP at least 75%   of the leading euro-zone economies.

From The 2008 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency