Social protection spending as share of total government spending in Italy
Italy: Social protection spending as share of total government spending was 39.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Social protection spending as share of total government spending in Italy, 2007–2023
Source: OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of government expenditure.
Analysis
Italy recorded 39.3% for social protection spending as share of total government spending in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.8% on the previous year and down 4.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, social protection spending as share of total government spending in Italy peaked at 44.0% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 37.2%, in 2007.
Italy ranks 10th of 37 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
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 Italy, year by year
| Year | % of government expenditure | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 37.2% | — |
| 2008 | 37.5% | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 38.6% | +2.7% |
| 2010 | 39.5% | +2.4% |
| 2011 | 39.8% | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 40.0% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 40.9% | +2.2% |
| 2014 | 41.5% | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 42.2% | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 42.4% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 42.2% | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 42.6% | +1.0% |
| 2019 | 43.4% | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 44.0% | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 40.3% | -8.3% |
| 2022 | 39.0% | -3.3% |
| 2023 | 39.3% | +0.8% |
Italy compared with similar countries
- Italy's 39.3% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 37.5%, 1.0× the median. (29 countries reporting)
- Italy's 39.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 36.4%, 1.1× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 37.8% | 37.2% | 38.6% | 3 |
| 2010s | 41.4% | 39.5% | 43.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 40.6% | 39.0% | 44.0% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Italy
More reference data data for Italy
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.5 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.48 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 8.94 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.927 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 8.94 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 8.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 5.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 6.51 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 41.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 5.05 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is social protection spending as share of total government spending in Italy?
- Social protection spending as share of total government spending in Italy was 39.3% 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 Italy?
- The highest recorded value was 44.0% in 2020.
- What is the lowest social protection spending as share of total government spending recorded in Italy?
- The lowest recorded value was 37.2% in 2007.
- How does Italy rank for social protection spending as share of total government spending?
- Italy ranks 10th out of 37 countries with data for 2023.
- Is social protection spending as share of total government spending rising or falling in Italy?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Italy 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.
Download this data
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.