Spain vs Sweden: Public social spending as share of GDP
Spain
25.9%
in 2024
Sweden
26.1%
in 2024
Spain rank
9th
Sweden rank
8th
Public social spending as share of GDP over time
- Spain
- Sweden
How they compare
Sweden currently reports 26.1% against 25.9% in Spain, a difference of 0.2%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 45 shared years of data; in 1980 it was Sweden ahead.
Spain ranks 9th and Sweden ranks 8th of 42 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Spain averaged higher in 1 and Sweden in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Spain | Sweden | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 16.6% | 26.0% | 9.4% | Sweden |
| 1990s | 20.4% | 30.3% | 9.8% | Sweden |
| 2000s | 20.2% | 27.3% | 7.1% | Sweden |
| 2010s | 24.7% | 27.2% | 2.5% | Sweden |
| 2020s | 27.4% | 26.3% | 1.1% | Spain |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher public social spending as share of gdp, Spain or Sweden?
- Sweden, at 26.1% against 25.9% in Spain as of 2024.
- What is the difference in public social spending as share of gdp between Spain and Sweden?
- 0.2%, with Sweden ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Spain and Sweden?
- 45 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2024.
- How do Spain and Sweden rank globally for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Spain ranks 9th and Sweden ranks 8th 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.