Denmark vs Japan: Public social spending as share of GDP
Denmark
26.4%
in 2024
Japan
24.7%
in 2022
Denmark rank
7th
Japan rank
10th
Public social spending as share of GDP over time
- Denmark
- Japan
How they compare
Denmark currently reports 26.4% against 24.7% in Japan, a difference of 1.7%.
That makes Denmark's figure about 1.1 times Japan's.
Across all 49 years both countries report, Denmark has been ahead every year.
Denmark ranks 7th and Japan ranks 10th of 42 countries.
Denmark has averaged higher in every one of the 11 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Denmark | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1.0% | 0.1% | 0.9% | Denmark |
| 1890s | 1.1% | 0.1% | 1.0% | Denmark |
| 1900s | 1.4% | 0.2% | 1.2% | Denmark |
| 1910s | 1.8% | 0.2% | 1.6% | Denmark |
| 1920s | 2.7% | 0.2% | 2.5% | Denmark |
| 1930s | 3.1% | 0.2% | 2.9% | Denmark |
| 1980s | 20.3% | 10.6% | 9.7% | Denmark |
| 1990s | 23.9% | 12.4% | 11.6% | Denmark |
| 2000s | 25.4% | 17.0% | 8.4% | Denmark |
| 2010s | 29.6% | 21.9% | 7.7% | Denmark |
| 2020s | 27.7% | 25.0% | 2.7% | Denmark |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher public social spending as share of gdp, Denmark or Japan?
- Denmark, at 26.4% against 24.7% in Japan as of 2024.
- What is the difference in public social spending as share of gdp between Denmark and Japan?
- 1.7%, with Denmark ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Denmark and Japan?
- 49 years are reported by both, from 1880 to 2022.
- How do Denmark and Japan rank globally for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Denmark ranks 7th and Japan ranks 10th 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.