Costa Rica vs Ireland: Public social spending as share of GDP
Costa Rica
12.6%
in 2022
Ireland
14.4%
in 2024
Costa Rica rank
39th
Ireland rank
36th
Public social spending as share of GDP over time
- Costa Rica
- Ireland
How they compare
Ireland currently reports 14.4% against 12.6% in Costa Rica, a difference of 1.8%.
That makes Ireland's figure about 1.1 times Costa Rica's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 12 shared years of data; in 2011 it was Ireland ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 39th and Ireland ranks 36th of 42 countries.
Ireland has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Ireland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 12.0% | 17.3% | 5.3% | Ireland |
| 2020s | 13.2% | 13.7% | 0.5% | Ireland |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher public social spending as share of gdp, Costa Rica or Ireland?
- Ireland, at 14.4% against 12.6% in Costa Rica as of 2024.
- What is the difference in public social spending as share of gdp between Costa Rica and Ireland?
- 1.8%, with Ireland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Ireland?
- 12 years are reported by both, from 2011 to 2022.
- How do Costa Rica and Ireland rank globally for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Costa Rica ranks 39th and Ireland ranks 36th 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.