France vs Italy: Public social spending as share of GDP
France
30.6%
in 2024
Italy
27.6%
in 2024
France rank
3rd
Italy rank
6th
Public social spending as share of GDP over time
- France
- Italy
How they compare
France currently reports 30.6% against 27.6% in Italy, a difference of 3.0%.
That makes France's figure about 1.1 times Italy's.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 56 shared years of data; in 1880 it was France ahead.
France ranks 3rd and Italy ranks 6th of 42 countries.
Across the 12 decades both report, France averaged higher in 11 and Italy in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | France | Italy | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 0.5% | 0.0% | 0.5% | France |
| 1890s | 0.5% | 0.0% | 0.5% | France |
| 1900s | 0.6% | 0.0% | 0.6% | France |
| 1910s | 0.8% | 0.0% | 0.8% | France |
| 1920s | 0.6% | 0.0% | 0.6% | France |
| 1930s | 1.1% | 0.1% | 1.0% | France |
| 1970s | 18.6% | 17.2% | 1.4% | France |
| 1980s | 18.7% | 19.5% | 0.9% | Italy |
| 1990s | 27.5% | 21.7% | 5.8% | France |
| 2000s | 28.7% | 23.9% | 4.8% | France |
| 2010s | 31.3% | 27.5% | 3.9% | France |
| 2020s | 32.0% | 29.1% | 2.9% | France |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher public social spending as share of gdp, France or Italy?
- France, at 30.6% against 27.6% in Italy as of 2024.
- What is the difference in public social spending as share of gdp between France and Italy?
- 3.0%, with France ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for France and Italy?
- 56 years are reported by both, from 1880 to 2024.
- How do France and Italy rank globally for public social spending as share of gdp?
- France ranks 3rd and Italy ranks 6th 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.