Government spending by function by country
General government expenditure on social protection. This data is divided by total government expenditure, expressed as a percentage.
Countries reporting
35
Highest
46.0%
Finland
Lowest
20.2%
United States
Median
36.4%
Years covered
18
2007–2024
Data points
618
What the numbers show
Government spending by function is currently reported for 35 countries. The highest value is 46.0% in Finland; the lowest is 20.2% in United States.
The median across all reporting countries is 36.4%, and the mean is 34.1%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 2.
Over the past decade 18 countries rose and 17 fell. The largest increase was in South Korea (up 27.0%), and the largest decrease in Hungary (down 24.1%).
Government spending by function: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finland | 46.0% | 2023 | up 6.4% | rising |
| 3 | Denmark | 41.5% | 2024 | down 3.4% | flat |
| 4 | Austria | 41.3% | 2024 | up 1.1% | flat |
| 5 | France | 40.9% | 2023 | down 1.9% | flat |
| 6 | Spain | 40.7% | 2023 | up 3.9% | rising |
| 7 | Germany | 40.6% | 2023 | down 1.3% | flat |
| 8 | Japan | 39.9% | 2023 | down 1.3% | flat |
| 9 | Switzerland | 39.3% | 2023 | down 1.3% | flat |
| 10 | Italy | 39.3% | 2023 | down 4.0% | rising |
| 11 | Portugal | 39.2% | 2023 | up 0.4% | rising |
| 12 | Sweden | 37.8% | 2023 | down 8.5% | falling |
| 13 | Belgium | 37.7% | 2023 | up 5.3% | rising |
| 14 | Netherlands | 37.6% | 2023 | up 1.5% | rising |
| 15 | Norway | 37.6% | 2024 | down 4.6% | flat |
| 16 | Lithuania | 37.5% | 2023 | up 6.8% | rising |
| 17 | Greece | 37.3% | 2023 | up 20.0% | rising |
| 18 | Slovenia | 36.5% | 2023 | up 7.0% | flat |
| 19 | Slovakia | 36.4% | 2023 | up 0.5% | rising |
| 20 | Poland | 35.9% | 2023 | down 4.2% | rising |
| 21 | Bulgaria | 35.5% | 2023 | down 0.5% | flat |
| 23 | United Kingdom | 32.9% | 2023 | down 12.6% | falling |
| 24 | Romania | 31.4% | 2023 | down 3.0% | rising |
| 25 | Estonia | 31.3% | 2023 | up 4.4% | rising |
| 26 | Latvia | 31.0% | 2023 | up 3.6% | rising |
| 27 | Czechia | 30.7% | 2023 | down 5.4% | flat |
| 28 | Chile | 30.4% | 2023 | up 0.6% | rising |
| 29 | Israel | 28.2% | 2023 | up 7.5% | rising |
| 30 | Croatia | 27.8% | 2023 | down 9.2% | flat |
| 31 | Australia | 26.5% | 2023 | up 0.6% | falling |
| 32 | South Korea | 26.2% | 2023 | up 27.0% | rising |
| 33 | Costa Rica | 26.1% | 2021 | up 5.1% | rising |
| 34 | Colombia | 25.1% | 2023 | down 6.0% | falling |
| 35 | Hungary | 24.9% | 2023 | down 24.1% | falling |
| 36 | Iceland | 23.9% | 2023 | up 11.6% | rising |
| 37 | United States | 20.2% | 2023 | down 2.3% | rising |
About this data
General government expenditure on social protection. This data is divided by total government expenditure, expressed as a percentage.