Bulgaria vs United States: Public social spending as share of GDP
Bulgaria
20.5%
in 2021
United States
19.8%
in 2024
Bulgaria rank
21st
United States rank
22nd
Public social spending as share of GDP over time
- Bulgaria
- United States
How they compare
Bulgaria currently reports 20.5% against 19.8% in United States, a difference of 0.7%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 17 shared years of data; in 2005 it was United States ahead.
Bulgaria ranks 21st and United States ranks 22nd of 42 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Bulgaria | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 14.3% | 16.3% | 2.0% | United States |
| 2010s | 16.9% | 18.5% | 1.6% | United States |
| 2020s | 20.0% | 22.6% | 2.6% | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher public social spending as share of gdp, Bulgaria or United States?
- Bulgaria, at 20.5% against 19.8% in United States as of 2021.
- What is the difference in public social spending as share of gdp between Bulgaria and United States?
- 0.7%, with Bulgaria ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Bulgaria and United States?
- 17 years are reported by both, from 2005 to 2021.
- How do Bulgaria and United States rank globally for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Bulgaria ranks 21st and United States ranks 22nd 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.