Public social spending as share of GDP in Australia
Australia: Public social spending as share of GDP was 17.1% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Public social spending as share of GDP in Australia, 1880–2022
Source: OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for public social spending as share of gdp in Australia is 17.1%, measured in 2022.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.5% on the previous year and down 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public social spending as share of gdp in Australia peaked at 22.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1880.
That places Australia 31st out of 42 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 69 years of available data.
Public social spending as share of GDP in Australia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 0.0% | — |
| 1890 | 0.0% | — |
| 1900 | 0.0% | — |
| 1910 | 1.1% | — |
| 1920 | 1.7% | +48.2% |
| 1930 | 2.1% | +27.1% |
| 1960 | 5.9% | +180.5% |
| 1961 | 6.3% | +6.8% |
| 1962 | 6.3% | -0.8% |
| 1963 | 6.2% | -1.4% |
| 1964 | 6.0% | -3.6% |
| 1965 | 6.0% | +1.4% |
| 1966 | 5.9% | -2.3% |
| 1967 | 5.6% | -4.5% |
| 1968 | 5.7% | +0.4% |
| 1969 | 5.8% | +3.0% |
| 1970 | 5.9% | +1.1% |
| 1971 | 6.2% | +5.0% |
| 1972 | 6.6% | +6.9% |
| 1973 | 7.0% | +5.6% |
| 1974 | 8.4% | +19.8% |
| 1975 | 10.1% | +21.0% |
| 1976 | 10.6% | +4.3% |
| 1977 | 10.9% | +3.1% |
| 1978 | 10.6% | -2.6% |
| 1979 | 10.3% | -3.2% |
| 1980 | 10.2% | -0.3% |
| 1981 | 10.1% | -1.2% |
| 1982 | 11.1% | +9.6% |
| 1983 | 11.6% | +4.5% |
| 1984 | 12.0% | +3.2% |
| 1985 | 12.1% | +0.7% |
| 1986 | 11.9% | -1.4% |
| 1987 | 12.1% | +2.1% |
| 1988 | 11.4% | -5.8% |
| 1989 | 11.6% | +1.2% |
| 1990 | 13.1% | +13.3% |
| 1991 | 14.3% | +8.9% |
| 1992 | 15.3% | +6.9% |
| 1993 | 15.5% | +1.7% |
| 1994 | 15.2% | -1.8% |
| 1995 | 16.9% | +10.7% |
| 1996 | 17.0% | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 16.8% | -1.4% |
| 1998 | 17.6% | +4.8% |
| 1999 | 17.2% | -2.1% |
| 2000 | 18.2% | +5.7% |
| 2001 | 17.5% | -3.8% |
| 2002 | 17.3% | -1.1% |
| 2003 | 17.5% | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 17.2% | -1.7% |
| 2005 | 16.6% | -3.1% |
| 2006 | 15.7% | -5.8% |
| 2007 | 15.8% | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 17.0% | +7.5% |
| 2009 | 16.8% | -1.2% |
| 2010 | 16.5% | -1.7% |
| 2011 | 17.0% | +2.8% |
| 2012 | 17.3% | +1.7% |
| 2013 | 17.3% | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 17.9% | +3.5% |
| 2015 | 18.2% | +1.9% |
| 2016 | 17.5% | -3.9% |
| 2017 | 17.1% | -2.4% |
| 2018 | 16.6% | -2.6% |
| 2019 | 20.4% | +22.9% |
| 2020 | 22.6% | +10.8% |
| 2021 | 18.1% | -20.2% |
| 2022 | 17.1% | -5.5% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 17.1% is below the median for high income countries, which is 22.3%, 77% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Public social spending as share of GDP in Australia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | +180.5% | 2.1% | 5.9% |
| 1920 | +48.2% | 1.1% | 1.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1 |
| 1890s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1 |
| 1900s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1 |
| 1910s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1 |
| 1920s | 1.7% | 1.7% | 1.7% | 1 |
| 1930s | 2.1% | 2.1% | 2.1% | 1 |
| 1960s | 6.0% | 5.6% | 6.3% | 10 |
| 1970s | 8.7% | 5.9% | 10.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 11.4% | 10.1% | 12.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 15.9% | 13.1% | 17.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.0% | 15.7% | 18.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.6% | 16.5% | 20.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.3% | 17.1% | 22.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More reference data data for Australia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 28.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 118.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 170.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 13.9 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public social spending as share of gdp in Australia?
- Public social spending as share of gdp in Australia was 17.1% in 2022, according to OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest public social spending as share of gdp recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 22.6% in 2020.
- What is the lowest public social spending as share of gdp recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1880.
- How does Australia rank for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Australia ranks 31st out of 42 countries with data for 2022.
- Is public social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Public social spending as share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Public social expenditure divided bt gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.