Ireland vs Switzerland: Public social spending as share of GDP
Ireland
14.4%
in 2024
Switzerland
16.0%
in 2024
Ireland rank
36th
Switzerland rank
34th
Public social spending as share of GDP over time
- Ireland
- Switzerland
How they compare
Switzerland currently reports 16.0% against 14.4% in Ireland, a difference of 1.6%.
That makes Switzerland's figure about 1.1 times Ireland's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 46 shared years of data; in 1930 it was Ireland ahead.
Ireland ranks 36th and Switzerland ranks 34th of 42 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, Ireland averaged higher in 5 and Switzerland in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Ireland | Switzerland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 3.7% | 1.2% | 2.6% | Ireland |
| 1980s | 17.7% | 12.5% | 5.2% | Ireland |
| 1990s | 16.8% | 14.6% | 2.2% | Ireland |
| 2000s | 16.5% | 14.7% | 1.8% | Ireland |
| 2010s | 18.0% | 15.6% | 2.4% | Ireland |
| 2020s | 13.8% | 16.7% | 3.0% | Switzerland |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher public social spending as share of gdp, Ireland or Switzerland?
- Switzerland, at 16.0% against 14.4% in Ireland as of 2024.
- What is the difference in public social spending as share of gdp between Ireland and Switzerland?
- 1.6%, with Switzerland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Ireland and Switzerland?
- 46 years are reported by both, from 1930 to 2024.
- How do Ireland and Switzerland rank globally for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Ireland ranks 36th and Switzerland ranks 34th 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.
Individual pages
About this data
Public social expenditure divided bt gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.