Public social spending as share of GDP in Germany
Germany: Public social spending as share of GDP was 27.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Public social spending as share of GDP in Germany, 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 Germany is 27.9%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 2.1% on the previous year and up 9.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public social spending as share of gdp in Germany peaked at 29.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 1880.
Germany ranks 5th of 42 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 69 years of available data.
Public social spending as share of GDP in Germany, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 0.5% | — |
| 1890 | 0.5% | +6.0% |
| 1900 | 0.6% | +11.3% |
| 1930 | 4.8% | +716.9% |
| 1960 | 15.4% | +218.9% |
| 1961 | 15.3% | -0.4% |
| 1962 | 15.4% | +0.5% |
| 1963 | 15.8% | +2.9% |
| 1964 | 15.4% | -3.0% |
| 1965 | 16.1% | +4.8% |
| 1966 | 16.3% | +1.3% |
| 1967 | 17.7% | +8.6% |
| 1968 | 17.5% | -1.2% |
| 1969 | 17.0% | -3.0% |
| 1970 | 16.6% | -2.3% |
| 1971 | 17.3% | +4.5% |
| 1972 | 18.0% | +3.7% |
| 1973 | 18.3% | +1.9% |
| 1974 | 20.0% | +9.1% |
| 1975 | 23.1% | +15.5% |
| 1976 | 22.7% | -1.4% |
| 1977 | 22.6% | -0.7% |
| 1978 | 22.0% | -2.4% |
| 1979 | 21.6% | -2.0% |
| 1980 | 21.8% | +0.9% |
| 1981 | 22.4% | +3.0% |
| 1982 | 22.4% | -0.1% |
| 1983 | 22.1% | -1.3% |
| 1984 | 21.9% | -1.2% |
| 1985 | 22.2% | +1.6% |
| 1986 | 22.2% | +0.1% |
| 1987 | 22.7% | +2.1% |
| 1988 | 22.7% | -0.0% |
| 1989 | 21.6% | -4.7% |
| 1990 | 21.4% | -1.3% |
| 1991 | 22.5% | +5.3% |
| 1992 | 24.2% | +7.6% |
| 1993 | 24.9% | +3.1% |
| 1994 | 25.1% | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 25.6% | +2.2% |
| 1996 | 26.2% | +2.2% |
| 1997 | 25.7% | -2.0% |
| 1998 | 25.6% | -0.4% |
| 1999 | 25.6% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 25.5% | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 25.5% | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 26.1% | +2.5% |
| 2003 | 26.5% | +1.5% |
| 2004 | 25.9% | -2.3% |
| 2005 | 26.2% | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 24.9% | -4.9% |
| 2007 | 24.0% | -3.5% |
| 2008 | 24.2% | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 27.4% | +13.4% |
| 2010 | 26.7% | -2.7% |
| 2011 | 25.4% | -4.9% |
| 2012 | 25.3% | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 25.5% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 25.4% | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 25.7% | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 25.9% | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 25.9% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 26.0% | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 26.4% | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 29.5% | +11.6% |
| 2021 | 28.9% | -2.0% |
| 2022 | 27.7% | -4.0% |
| 2023 | 27.3% | -1.5% |
| 2024 | 27.9% | +2.1% |
Germany compared with similar countries
- Germany's 27.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 22.3%, 1.2× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Germany's 27.9% 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 Germany 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | +716.9% | 0.6% | 4.8% |
| 1960 | +218.9% | 4.8% | 15.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1 |
| 1890s | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1 |
| 1900s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 1 |
| 1930s | 4.8% | 4.8% | 4.8% | 1 |
| 1960s | 16.2% | 15.3% | 17.7% | 10 |
| 1970s | 20.2% | 16.6% | 23.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 22.2% | 21.6% | 22.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 24.7% | 21.4% | 26.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 25.6% | 24.0% | 27.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.8% | 25.3% | 26.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 28.2% | 27.3% | 29.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Germany
More reference data data for Germany
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.6 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 16.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.94 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 16.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 15.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 9.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.87 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 80.38 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 10.56 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public social spending as share of gdp in Germany?
- Public social spending as share of gdp in Germany was 27.9% 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 Germany?
- The highest recorded value was 29.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest public social spending as share of gdp recorded in Germany?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 1880.
- How does Germany rank for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Germany ranks 5th out of 42 countries with data for 2024.
- Is public social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Germany?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Germany 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.