Denmark vs Spain: Public social spending as share of GDP
Denmark
26.4%
in 2024
Spain
25.9%
in 2024
Denmark rank
7th
Spain rank
9th
Public social spending as share of GDP over time
- Denmark
- Spain
How they compare
Denmark currently reports 26.4% against 25.9% in Spain, a difference of 0.5%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 45 shared years of data; in 1980 it was Denmark ahead.
Denmark ranks 7th and Spain ranks 9th of 42 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Denmark averaged higher in 4 and Spain in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Denmark | Spain | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 20.3% | 16.6% | 3.7% | Denmark |
| 1990s | 23.9% | 20.4% | 3.5% | Denmark |
| 2000s | 25.4% | 20.2% | 5.3% | Denmark |
| 2010s | 29.6% | 24.7% | 4.9% | Denmark |
| 2020s | 27.2% | 27.4% | 0.2% | Spain |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher public social spending as share of gdp, Denmark or Spain?
- Denmark, at 26.4% against 25.9% in Spain as of 2024.
- What is the difference in public social spending as share of gdp between Denmark and Spain?
- 0.5%, with Denmark ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Denmark and Spain?
- 45 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2024.
- How do Denmark and Spain rank globally for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Denmark ranks 7th and Spain ranks 9th 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.