Public social spending as share of GDP in Austria
Austria: Public social spending as share of GDP was 31.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Public social spending as share of GDP in Austria, 1880–2024
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 Austria is 31.6%, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 4.1% on the previous year and up 10.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public social spending as share of gdp in Austria peaked at 32.7% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1880.
Austria ranks 1st of 42 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 64 years of available data.
Public social spending as share of GDP in Austria, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 0.0% | — |
| 1890 | 0.0% | — |
| 1900 | 0.0% | — |
| 1910 | 0.0% | — |
| 1920 | 0.0% | — |
| 1930 | 1.2% | — |
| 1960 | 15.0% | +1151.2% |
| 1961 | 15.0% | +0.1% |
| 1962 | 15.9% | +6.0% |
| 1963 | 16.3% | +2.5% |
| 1964 | 16.3% | -0.2% |
| 1965 | 16.5% | +1.3% |
| 1966 | 16.7% | +1.5% |
| 1967 | 17.5% | +4.8% |
| 1968 | 17.1% | -2.6% |
| 1969 | 17.9% | +4.9% |
| 1970 | 17.9% | -0.2% |
| 1971 | 18.0% | +0.8% |
| 1972 | 17.9% | -0.8% |
| 1973 | 17.7% | -0.9% |
| 1974 | 18.2% | +2.6% |
| 1975 | 19.8% | +9.1% |
| 1976 | 20.5% | +3.6% |
| 1977 | 20.5% | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 22.2% | +8.0% |
| 1979 | 22.1% | -0.2% |
| 1980 | 22.0% | -0.5% |
| 1981 | 22.6% | +2.6% |
| 1985 | 23.3% | +3.2% |
| 1990 | 23.4% | +0.2% |
| 1991 | 23.7% | +1.4% |
| 1992 | 24.4% | +2.9% |
| 1993 | 25.8% | +5.8% |
| 1994 | 26.7% | +3.7% |
| 1995 | 26.7% | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 26.8% | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 26.3% | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 26.1% | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 26.4% | +1.2% |
| 2000 | 26.2% | -0.9% |
| 2001 | 26.2% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 26.6% | +1.4% |
| 2003 | 27.1% | +1.9% |
| 2004 | 26.9% | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 26.5% | -1.5% |
| 2006 | 26.2% | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 25.6% | -2.3% |
| 2008 | 26.1% | +1.9% |
| 2009 | 28.1% | +7.7% |
| 2010 | 28.2% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 27.4% | -2.9% |
| 2012 | 27.8% | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 28.3% | +1.7% |
| 2014 | 28.5% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 28.4% | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 28.4% | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 28.0% | -1.3% |
| 2018 | 27.7% | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 27.8% | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 32.7% | +17.4% |
| 2021 | 32.0% | -2.1% |
| 2022 | 30.0% | -6.2% |
| 2023 | 30.3% | +1.0% |
| 2024 | 31.6% | +4.1% |
Austria compared with similar countries
- Austria's 31.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 22.3%, 1.4× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Austria's 31.6% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 23.0%, 1.4× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Public social spending as share of GDP in Austria 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 | +1151.2% | 1.2% | 15.0% |
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 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1 |
| 1920s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1 |
| 1930s | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1 |
| 1960s | 16.4% | 15.0% | 17.9% | 10 |
| 1970s | 19.5% | 17.7% | 22.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 22.6% | 22.0% | 23.3% | 3 |
| 1990s | 25.6% | 23.4% | 26.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 26.6% | 25.6% | 28.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 28.1% | 27.4% | 28.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 31.3% | 30.0% | 32.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Austria
More reference data data for Austria
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6222 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2597 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1986 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.09 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.84 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.08 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public social spending as share of gdp in Austria?
- Public social spending as share of gdp in Austria was 31.6% in 2024, 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 Austria?
- The highest recorded value was 32.7% in 2020.
- What is the lowest public social spending as share of gdp recorded in Austria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1880.
- How does Austria rank for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Austria ranks 1st out of 42 countries with data for 2024.
- Is public social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Austria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Austria 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.