Which has higher public social spending as share of gdp, Germany or Italy?

Germany, at 27.9% against 27.6% in Italy as of 2024.

How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and Italy?

69 years are reported by both, from 1880 to 2024.

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.

Germany vs Italy: Public social spending as share of GDP

Germany

27.9%

in 2024

Italy

27.6%

in 2024

Germany rank

5th

Italy rank

6th

Public social spending as share of GDP over time

Germany
Italy

How they compare

Germany currently reports 27.9% against 27.6% in Italy, a difference of 0.3%.

The two have swapped places 4 times across 69 shared years of data; in 1880 it was Germany ahead.

Germany ranks 5th and Italy ranks 6th of 42 countries.

Across the 11 decades both report, Germany averaged higher in 9 and Italy in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Germany	Italy	Difference	Ahead
1880s	0.5%	0.0%	0.5%	Germany
1890s	0.5%	0.0%	0.5%	Germany
1900s	0.6%	0.0%	0.6%	Germany
1930s	4.8%	0.1%	4.7%	Germany
1960s	16.2%	12.3%	3.9%	Germany
1970s	20.2%	16.2%	4.0%	Germany
1980s	22.2%	19.5%	2.7%	Germany
1990s	24.7%	21.7%	3.0%	Germany
2000s	25.6%	23.9%	1.7%	Germany
2010s	25.8%	27.5%	1.6%	Italy
2020s	28.2%	29.1%	0.9%	Italy

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher public social spending as share of gdp, Germany or Italy?: Germany, at 27.9% against 27.6% in Italy as of 2024.
What is the difference in public social spending as share of gdp between Germany and Italy?: 0.3%, with Germany ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and Italy?: 69 years are reported by both, from 1880 to 2024.
How do Germany and Italy rank globally for public social spending as share of gdp?: Germany ranks 5th and Italy ranks 6th 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.

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Germany vs Italy: Public social spending as share of GDP. Statizoid, drawing on OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/social-spending-oecd-longrun/germany/italy/

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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: 18 September 2026

Public social expenditure divided bt gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.