Canada vs Iceland: Public social spending as share of GDP
Canada
19.3%
in 2022
Iceland
19.2%
in 2024
Canada rank
24th
Iceland rank
26th
Public social spending as share of GDP over time
- Canada
- Iceland
How they compare
Canada currently reports 19.3% against 19.2% in Iceland, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 33 shared years of data; in 1990 it was Canada ahead.
Canada ranks 24th and Iceland ranks 26th of 42 countries.
Canada has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Canada | Iceland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 18.7% | 14.2% | 4.5% | Canada |
| 2000s | 17.1% | 15.9% | 1.2% | Canada |
| 2010s | 18.6% | 17.6% | 1.0% | Canada |
| 2020s | 22.4% | 21.8% | 0.6% | Canada |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher public social spending as share of gdp, Canada or Iceland?
- Canada, at 19.3% against 19.2% in Iceland as of 2022.
- What is the difference in public social spending as share of gdp between Canada and Iceland?
- 0.1%, with Canada ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and Iceland?
- 33 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2022.
- How do Canada and Iceland rank globally for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Canada ranks 24th and Iceland ranks 26th 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.