Public social spending as share of GDP by country
Public social expenditure divided bt gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.
Countries reporting
42
Highest
31.6%
Austria
Lowest
7.5%
Peru
Median
20.2%
Years covered
145
1880β2024
Data points
1,937
What the numbers show
Public social spending as share of GDP is currently reported for 42 countries. The highest value is 31.6% in Austria; the lowest is 7.5% in Peru.
The median across all reporting countries is 20.2%, and the mean is 20.7%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 4.
Over the past decade 29 countries rose and 13 fell. The largest increase was in South Korea (up 77.5%), and the largest decrease in Ireland (down 26.4%).
Public social spending as share of GDP: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austria | 31.6% | 2024 | up 10.7% | rising |
| 2 | Finland | 31.4% | 2024 | up 3.3% | rising |
| 3 | France | 30.6% | 2024 | down 3.9% | rising |
| 4 | Belgium | 28.6% | 2024 | up 1.1% | rising |
| 5 | Germany | 27.9% | 2024 | up 9.5% | rising |
| 6 | Italy | 27.6% | 2024 | down 1.5% | rising |
| 7 | Denmark | 26.4% | 2024 | down 12.0% | rising |
| 8 | Sweden | 26.1% | 2024 | down 6.4% | rising |
| 9 | Spain | 25.9% | 2024 | up 2.6% | rising |
| 10 | Japan | 24.7% | 2022 | up 13.6% | volatile |
| 11 | New Zealand | 24.6% | 2022 | up 15.3% | rising |
| 12 | Portugal | 24.1% | 2024 | down 3.4% | rising |
| 13 | Norway | 24.1% | 2024 | up 6.0% | rising |
| 14 | Luxembourg | 24.0% | 2024 | up 17.1% | rising |
| 15 | Greece | 23.7% | 2024 | down 7.5% | rising |
| 16 | Poland | 23.1% | 2024 | up 13.5% | flat |
| 17 | Slovenia | 23.0% | 2024 | down 1.4% | rising |
| 18 | United Kingdom | 23.0% | 2023 | down 6.5% | rising |
| 19 | Croatia | 22.5% | 2021 | up 11.4% | rising |
| 20 | Czechia | 22.1% | 2024 | up 10.3% | rising |
| 21 | Bulgaria | 20.5% | 2021 | up 32.4% | rising |
| 22 | United States | 19.8% | 2024 | up 7.6% | rising |
| 23 | Latvia | 19.7% | 2023 | up 22.4% | rising |
| 24 | Canada | 19.3% | 2022 | up 7.0% | rising |
| 25 | Slovakia | 19.3% | 2023 | up 9.9% | rising |
| 26 | Iceland | 19.2% | 2024 | up 9.3% | rising |
| 27 | Netherlands | 18.9% | 2024 | down 0.8% | rising |
| 28 | Hungary | 18.0% | 2024 | down 15.6% | falling |
| 29 | Romania | 17.6% | 2021 | up 14.1% | rising |
| 30 | Estonia | 17.2% | 2023 | up 9.2% | rising |
| 31 | Australia | 17.1% | 2022 | down 1.4% | rising |
| 32 | Lithuania | 16.9% | 2023 | up 10.0% | rising |
| 33 | Israel | 16.3% | 2023 | up 5.6% | flat |
| 34 | Switzerland | 16.0% | 2024 | up 3.7% | rising |
| 35 | South Korea | 15.3% | 2024 | up 77.5% | volatile |
| 36 | Ireland | 14.4% | 2024 | down 26.4% | rising |
| 37 | Colombia | 14.1% | 2023 | up 4.8% | rising |
| 38 | Chile | 12.9% | 2023 | up 27.7% | rising |
| 39 | Costa Rica | 12.6% | 2022 | up 8.0% | rising |
| 40 | Turkey | 10.4% | 2024 | down 11.2% | volatile |
| 41 | Mexico | 10.0% | 2023 | up 38.2% | rising |
| 42 | Peru | 7.5% | 2023 | up 7.0% | rising |
About this data
Public social expenditure divided bt gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.