Public social spending as share of GDP in Estonia
Estonia: Public social spending as share of GDP was 17.2% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Public social spending as share of GDP in Estonia, 1999–2023
Source: OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2023, public social spending as share of gdp in Estonia stood at 17.2%.
The figure is down 0.9% on the previous year and up 9.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public social spending as share of gdp in Estonia peaked at 21.4% in 2006 and was at its lowest, 12.6%, in 2007.
That places Estonia 30th out of 42 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 15.2% | 15.2% | 15.2% | 1 |
| 2000s | 14.9% | 12.6% | 21.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.0% | 15.8% | 18.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.5% | 17.2% | 20.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Estonia
More reference data data for Estonia
- Spring temperature anomalies 4.64 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 1.4 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -5.32 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 2.35 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 3.22 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 179.99 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public social spending as share of gdp in Estonia?
- Public social spending as share of gdp in Estonia was 17.2% 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 Estonia?
- The highest recorded value was 21.4% in 2006.
- What is the lowest public social spending as share of gdp recorded in Estonia?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.6% in 2007.
- How does Estonia rank for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Estonia ranks 30th out of 42 countries with data for 2023.
- Is public social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Estonia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Estonia 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Public social expenditure divided bt gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.