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Social protection spending as share of total government spending in Poland

Poland: Social protection spending as share of total government spending was 35.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
35.9%
Change on year
down 6.8%
World rank
20th
of 37 countries
All-time high
40.4%
in 2016
All-time low
35.1%
in 2008
Years of data
17
2007–2023

Social protection spending as share of total government spending in Poland, 2007–2023

0102030402007201520232007: 36.4 % of government expenditure2008: 35.1 % of government expenditure2009: 35.8 % of government expenditure2010: 35.6 % of government expenditure2011: 35.2 % of government expenditure2012: 36.3 % of government expenditure2013: 37.5 % of government expenditure2014: 37.5 % of government expenditure2015: 37.7 % of government expenditure2016: 40.4 % of government expenditure2017: 39.8 % of government expenditure2018: 39 % of government expenditure2019: 39.9 % of government expenditure2020: 37.5 % of government expenditure2021: 39.2 % of government expenditure2022: 38.6 % of government expenditure2023: 35.9 % of government expenditure

Source: OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of government expenditure.

Analysis

The most recent figure for social protection spending as share of total government spending in Poland is 35.9%, measured in 2023.

The figure is down 6.8% on the previous year and down 4.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, social protection spending as share of total government spending in Poland peaked at 40.4% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 35.1%, in 2008.

Poland ranks 20th 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 35.7% 35.1% 36.4% 3
2010s 37.9% 35.2% 40.4% 10
2020s 37.8% 35.9% 39.2% 4

Countries ranked near Poland

  1. 17 Greece 37.3% compare
  2. 18 Slovenia 36.5% compare
  3. 19 Slovakia 36.4% compare
  4. 21 Bulgaria 35.5% compare
  5. 22 Ireland 35.5% compare
  6. 23 United Kingdom 32.9% compare

See the full ranking of 37 places →

More reference data data for Poland

All data for Poland →

Frequently asked questions

What is social protection spending as share of total government spending in Poland?
Social protection spending as share of total government spending in Poland was 35.9% 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 Poland?
The highest recorded value was 40.4% in 2016.
What is the lowest social protection spending as share of total government spending recorded in Poland?
The lowest recorded value was 35.1% in 2008.
How does Poland rank for social protection spending as share of total government spending?
Poland ranks 20th out of 37 countries with data for 2023.
Is social protection spending as share of total government spending rising or falling in Poland?
Over the last ten years it is down 4.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Poland 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

Indicator
Social protection spending as share of total government spending
Unit
% of government expenditure
Source
OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
37 places, 618 data points, 2007–2024
Last refreshed

General government expenditure on social protection. This data is divided by total government expenditure, expressed as a percentage.