Social protection spending as share of total government spending in Estonia
Estonia: Social protection spending as share of total government spending was 31.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Social protection spending as share of total government spending in Estonia, 2007–2023
Source: OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of government expenditure.
Analysis
Estonia recorded 31.3% for social protection spending as share of total government spending in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.4% on the previous year and up 4.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, social protection spending as share of total government spending in Estonia peaked at 33.9% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 26.7%, in 2007.
Estonia ranks 25th of 37 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.
Social protection spending as share of total government spending in Estonia, year by year
| Year | % of government expenditure | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 26.7% | — |
| 2008 | 28.5% | +6.9% |
| 2009 | 32.6% | +14.3% |
| 2010 | 33.9% | +4.0% |
| 2011 | 32.4% | -4.4% |
| 2012 | 30.2% | -6.8% |
| 2013 | 30.0% | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 30.2% | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 31.2% | +3.4% |
| 2016 | 32.3% | +3.4% |
| 2017 | 31.8% | -1.5% |
| 2018 | 32.3% | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 32.5% | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 32.4% | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 31.6% | -2.4% |
| 2022 | 31.4% | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 31.3% | -0.4% |
Estonia compared with similar countries
- Estonia's 31.3% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 37.5%, 83% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
- Estonia's 31.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 36.4%, 86% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 29.2% | 26.7% | 32.6% | 3 |
| 2010s | 31.7% | 30.0% | 33.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 31.7% | 31.3% | 32.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Estonia
More reference data data for Estonia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0827 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0328 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.2652 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0363 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.2652 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2774 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.193 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.1743 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.31 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1975 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is social protection spending as share of total government spending in Estonia?
- Social protection spending as share of total government spending in Estonia was 31.3% in 2023, according to OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest social protection spending as share of total government spending recorded in Estonia?
- The highest recorded value was 33.9% in 2010.
- What is the lowest social protection spending as share of total government spending recorded in Estonia?
- The lowest recorded value was 26.7% in 2007.
- How does Estonia rank for social protection spending as share of total government spending?
- Estonia ranks 25th out of 37 countries with data for 2023.
- Is social protection spending as share of total government spending rising or falling in Estonia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Estonia data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Social protection spending as share of total government spending. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
General government expenditure on social protection. This data is divided by total government expenditure, expressed as a percentage.