Ireland vs South Korea: Public social spending as share of GDP

Ireland

14.4%

in 2024

South Korea

15.3%

in 2024

Ireland rank

36th

South Korea rank

35th

Public social spending as share of GDP over time

South Korea currently reports 15.3% against 14.4% in Ireland, a difference of 1.0%.

That makes South Korea's figure about 1.1 times Ireland's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 35 shared years of data; in 1990 it was Ireland ahead.

Ireland ranks 36th and South Korea ranks 35th of 42 regions.

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: 07 August 2026

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