Bulgaria vs Croatia: Public social spending as share of GDP

Bulgaria
20.5%
in 2021
Croatia
22.5%
in 2021
Bulgaria rank
21st
Croatia rank
19th

Public social spending as share of GDP over time

  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
0510152025200520132021

How they compare

Croatia currently reports 22.5% against 20.5% in Bulgaria, a difference of 2.0%.

That makes Croatia's figure about 1.1 times Bulgaria's.

Across all 14 years both countries report, Croatia has been ahead every year.

Bulgaria ranks 21st and Croatia ranks 19th of 42 countries.

Croatia has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Bulgaria Croatia Difference Ahead
2000s 14.7% 20.3% 5.6% Croatia
2010s 16.9% 20.6% 3.6% Croatia
2020s 20.0% 23.0% 2.9% Croatia

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher public social spending as share of gdp, Bulgaria or Croatia?
Croatia, at 22.5% against 20.5% in Bulgaria as of 2021.
What is the difference in public social spending as share of gdp between Bulgaria and Croatia?
2.0%, with Croatia ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Bulgaria and Croatia?
14 years are reported by both, from 2008 to 2021.
How do Bulgaria and Croatia rank globally for public social spending as share of gdp?
Bulgaria ranks 21st and Croatia ranks 19th 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.

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Bulgaria vs Croatia: Public social spending as share of GDP. Statizoid, drawing on OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/social-spending-oecd-longrun/bulgaria/croatia/

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About this data

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

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