Public social spending as share of GDP in Chile
Chile: Public social spending as share of GDP was 12.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Public social spending as share of GDP in Chile, 1986–2023
Source: OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Chile recorded 12.9% for public social spending as share of gdp in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.6% on the previous year and up 27.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public social spending as share of gdp in Chile peaked at 19.6% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 8.2%, in 2006.
That places Chile 38th out of 42 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 38 years of available data.
Public social spending as share of GDP in Chile, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 13.3% | — |
| 1987 | 11.5% | -13.6% |
| 1988 | 10.2% | -11.0% |
| 1989 | 9.7% | -5.6% |
| 1990 | 9.6% | -1.1% |
| 1991 | 9.6% | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 9.1% | -4.5% |
| 1993 | 9.3% | +1.3% |
| 1994 | 9.0% | -3.1% |
| 1995 | 10.7% | +19.7% |
| 1996 | 11.6% | +8.1% |
| 1997 | 11.3% | -2.5% |
| 1998 | 11.7% | +3.4% |
| 1999 | 12.5% | +6.7% |
| 2000 | 10.2% | -18.2% |
| 2001 | 9.9% | -3.1% |
| 2002 | 9.9% | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 9.8% | -1.5% |
| 2004 | 9.2% | -6.0% |
| 2005 | 8.8% | -3.8% |
| 2006 | 8.2% | -7.0% |
| 2007 | 8.4% | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 9.5% | +13.6% |
| 2009 | 11.5% | +20.3% |
| 2010 | 10.5% | -8.0% |
| 2011 | 10.1% | -4.4% |
| 2012 | 10.1% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 10.1% | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 10.4% | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 10.9% | +5.1% |
| 2016 | 11.1% | +2.1% |
| 2017 | 11.4% | +2.6% |
| 2018 | 11.4% | -0.3% |
| 2019 | 11.7% | +2.4% |
| 2020 | 15.5% | +33.0% |
| 2021 | 19.6% | +26.3% |
| 2022 | 12.3% | -37.1% |
| 2023 | 12.9% | +4.6% |
Chile compared with similar countries
- Chile's 12.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 22.3%, 58% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Chile's 12.9% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 12.6%, 1.0× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 11.2% | 9.7% | 13.3% | 4 |
| 1990s | 10.4% | 9.0% | 12.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.5% | 8.2% | 11.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.8% | 10.1% | 11.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.1% | 12.3% | 19.6% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Chile
More reference data data for Chile
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9268 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 5.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2204 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 5.33 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.11 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.46 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 11.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 25.25 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.2 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public social spending as share of gdp in Chile?
- Public social spending as share of gdp in Chile was 12.9% in 2023, 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 Chile?
- The highest recorded value was 19.6% in 2021.
- What is the lowest public social spending as share of gdp recorded in Chile?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.2% in 2006.
- How does Chile rank for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Chile ranks 38th out of 42 countries with data for 2023.
- Is public social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Chile?
- Over the last ten years it is up 27.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Chile 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.