Denmark vs Germany: Public social spending as share of GDP
Denmark
26.4%
in 2024
Germany
27.9%
in 2024
Denmark rank
7th
Germany rank
5th
Public social spending as share of GDP over time
- Denmark
- Germany
How they compare
Germany currently reports 27.9% against 26.4% in Denmark, a difference of 1.5%.
That makes Germany's figure about 1.1 times Denmark's.
The two have swapped places 7 times across 49 shared years of data; in 1880 it was Denmark ahead.
Denmark ranks 7th and Germany ranks 5th of 42 countries.
Across the 9 decades both report, Denmark averaged higher in 4 and Germany in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Denmark | Germany | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1.0% | 0.5% | 0.5% | Denmark |
| 1890s | 1.1% | 0.5% | 0.6% | Denmark |
| 1900s | 1.4% | 0.6% | 0.8% | Denmark |
| 1930s | 3.1% | 4.8% | 1.7% | Germany |
| 1980s | 20.3% | 22.2% | 2.0% | Germany |
| 1990s | 23.9% | 24.7% | 0.8% | Germany |
| 2000s | 25.4% | 25.6% | 0.2% | Germany |
| 2010s | 29.6% | 25.8% | 3.8% | Denmark |
| 2020s | 27.2% | 28.2% | 1.1% | Germany |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher public social spending as share of gdp, Denmark or Germany?
- Germany, at 27.9% against 26.4% in Denmark as of 2024.
- What is the difference in public social spending as share of gdp between Denmark and Germany?
- 1.5%, with Germany ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Denmark and Germany?
- 49 years are reported by both, from 1880 to 2024.
- How do Denmark and Germany rank globally for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Denmark ranks 7th and Germany ranks 5th 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.