Latvia vs United States: Public social spending as share of GDP
Latvia
19.7%
in 2023
United States
19.8%
in 2024
Latvia rank
23rd
United States rank
22nd
Public social spending as share of GDP over time
- Latvia
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 19.8% against 19.7% in Latvia, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 30 shared years of data; in 1994 it was United States ahead.
Latvia ranks 23rd and United States ranks 22nd of 42 countries.
United States has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Latvia | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.8% | 14.6% | 6.8% | United States |
| 2000s | 14.1% | 15.7% | 1.6% | United States |
| 2010s | 16.8% | 18.5% | 1.7% | United States |
| 2020s | 20.3% | 20.8% | 0.5% | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher public social spending as share of gdp, Latvia or United States?
- United States, at 19.8% against 19.7% in Latvia as of 2024.
- What is the difference in public social spending as share of gdp between Latvia and United States?
- 0.1%, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Latvia and United States?
- 30 years are reported by both, from 1994 to 2023.
- How do Latvia and United States rank globally for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Latvia ranks 23rd and United States ranks 22nd 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.