Belgium vs Finland: Public social spending as share of GDP
Belgium
28.6%
in 2024
Finland
31.4%
in 2024
Belgium rank
4th
Finland rank
2nd
Public social spending as share of GDP over time
- Belgium
- Finland
How they compare
Finland currently reports 31.4% against 28.6% in Belgium, a difference of 2.8%.
That makes Finland's figure about 1.1 times Belgium's.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 71 shared years of data; in 1880 it was Finland ahead.
Belgium ranks 4th and Finland ranks 2nd of 42 countries.
Across the 13 decades both report, Belgium averaged higher in 4 and Finland in 9.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Belgium | Finland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 0.2% | 0.7% | 0.5% | Finland |
| 1890s | 0.2% | 0.8% | 0.5% | Finland |
| 1900s | 0.3% | 0.8% | 0.5% | Finland |
| 1910s | 0.4% | 0.9% | 0.5% | Finland |
| 1920s | 0.5% | 0.8% | 0.3% | Finland |
| 1930s | 0.6% | 3.0% | 2.4% | Finland |
| 1960s | 12.4% | 10.2% | 2.2% | Belgium |
| 1970s | 19.2% | 15.5% | 3.7% | Belgium |
| 1980s | 25.3% | 20.6% | 4.7% | Belgium |
| 1990s | 25.4% | 28.0% | 2.7% | Finland |
| 2000s | 25.1% | 23.8% | 1.3% | Belgium |
| 2010s | 28.2% | 29.4% | 1.2% | Finland |
| 2020s | 29.1% | 30.9% | 1.8% | Finland |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher public social spending as share of gdp, Belgium or Finland?
- Finland, at 31.4% against 28.6% in Belgium as of 2024.
- What is the difference in public social spending as share of gdp between Belgium and Finland?
- 2.8%, with Finland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Belgium and Finland?
- 71 years are reported by both, from 1880 to 2024.
- How do Belgium and Finland rank globally for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Belgium ranks 4th and Finland ranks 2nd of 42 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) β 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.