Belgium vs Germany: Public social spending as share of GDP

Belgium

28.6%

in 2024

Germany

27.9%

in 2024

Belgium rank

4th

Germany rank

5th

Public social spending as share of GDP over time

Belgium currently reports 28.6% against 27.9% in Germany, a difference of 0.7%.

The two have swapped places 3 times across 69 shared years of data; in 1880 it was Germany ahead.

Belgium ranks 4th and Germany ranks 5th of 42 countries.

Indicator: Public social spending as share of GDP
Unit: % of GDP
Source: OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 42 places, 1,937 data points, 1880–2024
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Public social expenditure divided bt gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.