Australia vs Switzerland: Public social spending as share of GDP
Australia
17.1%
in 2022
Switzerland
16.0%
in 2024
Australia rank
31st
Switzerland rank
34th
Public social spending as share of GDP over time
- Australia
- Switzerland
How they compare
Australia currently reports 17.1% against 16.0% in Switzerland, a difference of 1.1%.
That makes Australia's figure about 1.1 times Switzerland's.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 44 shared years of data; in 1930 it was Australia ahead.
Australia ranks 31st and Switzerland ranks 34th of 42 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 5 and Switzerland in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | Switzerland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 2.1% | 1.2% | 0.9% | Australia |
| 1980s | 11.4% | 12.5% | 1.1% | Switzerland |
| 1990s | 15.9% | 14.6% | 1.3% | Australia |
| 2000s | 17.0% | 14.7% | 2.2% | Australia |
| 2010s | 17.6% | 15.6% | 2.0% | Australia |
| 2020s | 19.3% | 17.4% | 1.9% | Australia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher public social spending as share of gdp, Australia or Switzerland?
- Australia, at 17.1% against 16.0% in Switzerland as of 2022.
- What is the difference in public social spending as share of gdp between Australia and Switzerland?
- 1.1%, with Australia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and Switzerland?
- 44 years are reported by both, from 1930 to 2022.
- How do Australia and Switzerland rank globally for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Australia ranks 31st and Switzerland ranks 34th of 42 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Public social spending as share of GDP. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Public social expenditure divided bt gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.