Public social spending as share of GDP in Belgium
Belgium: Public social spending as share of GDP was 28.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Public social spending as share of GDP in Belgium, 1880–2024
Source: OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2024, public social spending as share of gdp in Belgium stood at 28.6%.
That represents a change of up 1.0% on the previous year and up 1.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public social spending as share of gdp in Belgium peaked at 31.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 1880.
Belgium ranks 4th of 42 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 71 years of available data.
Public social spending as share of GDP in Belgium, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 0.2% | — |
| 1890 | 0.2% | +29.4% |
| 1900 | 0.3% | +18.2% |
| 1910 | 0.4% | +65.4% |
| 1920 | 0.5% | +20.9% |
| 1930 | 0.6% | +7.7% |
| 1960 | 10.2% | +1720.7% |
| 1961 | 10.7% | +4.7% |
| 1962 | 11.2% | +4.8% |
| 1963 | 11.6% | +3.9% |
| 1964 | 11.6% | +0.1% |
| 1965 | 12.5% | +7.1% |
| 1966 | 13.2% | +6.1% |
| 1967 | 13.6% | +3.1% |
| 1968 | 14.7% | +7.6% |
| 1969 | 14.7% | +0.1% |
| 1970 | 14.9% | +1.8% |
| 1971 | 15.2% | +1.9% |
| 1972 | 16.1% | +6.0% |
| 1973 | 16.6% | +2.6% |
| 1974 | 17.2% | +3.7% |
| 1975 | 20.7% | +20.7% |
| 1976 | 21.8% | +4.9% |
| 1977 | 22.9% | +5.5% |
| 1978 | 23.2% | +1.2% |
| 1979 | 23.4% | +0.8% |
| 1980 | 23.5% | +0.3% |
| 1981 | 25.0% | +6.7% |
| 1982 | 25.6% | +2.4% |
| 1983 | 25.9% | +1.1% |
| 1984 | 25.2% | -3.0% |
| 1985 | 26.0% | +3.3% |
| 1986 | 25.8% | -0.7% |
| 1987 | 25.6% | -0.9% |
| 1988 | 25.4% | -0.8% |
| 1989 | 24.5% | -3.4% |
| 1990 | 25.0% | +1.8% |
| 1991 | 25.7% | +3.1% |
| 1992 | 24.7% | -3.9% |
| 1993 | 25.8% | +4.3% |
| 1994 | 25.2% | -2.4% |
| 1995 | 25.7% | +2.0% |
| 1996 | 26.3% | +2.4% |
| 1997 | 25.3% | -3.9% |
| 1998 | 25.2% | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 25.0% | -0.8% |
| 2000 | 23.9% | -4.4% |
| 2001 | 24.4% | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 24.8% | +1.5% |
| 2003 | 25.3% | +2.2% |
| 2004 | 25.1% | -1.0% |
| 2005 | 24.9% | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 24.8% | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 24.3% | -2.0% |
| 2008 | 25.7% | +5.8% |
| 2009 | 27.9% | +8.3% |
| 2010 | 27.7% | -0.8% |
| 2011 | 27.9% | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 27.8% | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 28.2% | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 28.3% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 29.1% | +3.0% |
| 2016 | 28.5% | -2.1% |
| 2017 | 28.4% | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 28.3% | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 28.1% | -1.0% |
| 2020 | 31.6% | +12.5% |
| 2021 | 29.1% | -7.8% |
| 2022 | 27.8% | -4.4% |
| 2023 | 28.3% | +1.6% |
| 2024 | 28.6% | +1.0% |
Belgium compared with similar countries
- Belgium's 28.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 22.3%, 1.3× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Belgium's 28.6% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 23.0%, 1.2× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Public social spending as share of GDP in Belgium 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 | +1720.7% | 0.6% | 10.2% |
| 1910 | +65.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% |
| 1890 | +29.4% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 1 |
| 1890s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 1 |
| 1900s | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 1 |
| 1910s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 1 |
| 1920s | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1 |
| 1930s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 1 |
| 1960s | 12.4% | 10.2% | 14.7% | 10 |
| 1970s | 19.2% | 14.9% | 23.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 25.3% | 23.5% | 26.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 25.4% | 24.7% | 26.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 25.1% | 23.9% | 27.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 28.2% | 27.7% | 29.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.1% | 27.8% | 31.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
More reference data data for Belgium
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9298 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.291 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.09 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1382 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.09 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.12 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.61 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.4 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7526 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public social spending as share of gdp in Belgium?
- Public social spending as share of gdp in Belgium was 28.6% 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 Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 31.6% in 2020.
- What is the lowest public social spending as share of gdp recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 1880.
- How does Belgium rank for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Belgium ranks 4th out of 42 countries with data for 2024.
- Is public social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Belgium 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.