Croatia vs United States: Public social spending as share of GDP

Croatia
22.5%
in 2021
United States
19.8%
in 2024
Croatia rank
19th
United States rank
22nd

Public social spending as share of GDP over time

  • Croatia
  • United States
0510152025188019522024

How they compare

Croatia currently reports 22.5% against 19.8% in United States, a difference of 2.7%.

That makes Croatia's figure about 1.1 times United States's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 14 shared years of data; in 2008 it was Croatia ahead.

Croatia ranks 19th and United States ranks 22nd of 42 countries.

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

Head to head by decade

Decade Croatia United States Difference Ahead
2000s 20.3% 17.3% 3.0% Croatia
2010s 20.6% 18.5% 2.1% Croatia
2020s 23.0% 22.6% 0.3% Croatia

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher public social spending as share of gdp, Croatia or United States?
Croatia, at 22.5% against 19.8% in United States as of 2021.
What is the difference in public social spending as share of gdp between Croatia and United States?
2.7%, with Croatia ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Croatia and United States?
14 years are reported by both, from 2008 to 2021.
How do Croatia and United States rank globally for public social spending as share of gdp?
Croatia ranks 19th 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

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.