Public social spending as share of GDP in Hungary
Hungary: Public social spending as share of GDP was 18.0% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Public social spending as share of GDP in Hungary, 1999–2024
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 Hungary is 18.0%, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.4% on the previous year and down 15.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public social spending as share of gdp in Hungary peaked at 23.2% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 17.5%, in 2019.
That places Hungary 28th out of 42 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Public social spending as share of GDP in Hungary, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 20.8% | — |
| 2000 | 20.1% | -3.6% |
| 2001 | 19.8% | -1.6% |
| 2002 | 20.8% | +5.3% |
| 2003 | 21.8% | +4.9% |
| 2004 | 21.1% | -3.4% |
| 2005 | 21.8% | +3.6% |
| 2006 | 22.1% | +1.4% |
| 2007 | 22.4% | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 22.6% | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 23.2% | +2.6% |
| 2010 | 22.9% | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 22.2% | -2.9% |
| 2012 | 22.5% | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 22.2% | -1.6% |
| 2014 | 21.3% | -3.9% |
| 2015 | 20.3% | -4.6% |
| 2016 | 20.1% | -1.1% |
| 2017 | 19.4% | -3.5% |
| 2018 | 18.6% | -4.4% |
| 2019 | 17.5% | -5.7% |
| 2020 | 19.0% | +8.5% |
| 2021 | 18.4% | -3.1% |
| 2022 | 17.7% | -3.7% |
| 2023 | 18.1% | +2.0% |
| 2024 | 18.0% | -0.4% |
Hungary compared with similar countries
- Hungary's 18.0% is below the median for high income countries, which is 22.3%, 81% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Hungary's 18.0% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 23.0%, 78% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 20.8% | 20.8% | 20.8% | 1 |
| 2000s | 21.6% | 19.8% | 23.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.7% | 17.5% | 22.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.2% | 17.7% | 19.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Hungary
More reference data data for Hungary
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5538 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.1724 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.75 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.5679 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.75 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.86 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.09 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.6937 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 12.77 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 3.09 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public social spending as share of gdp in Hungary?
- Public social spending as share of gdp in Hungary was 18.0% 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 Hungary?
- The highest recorded value was 23.2% in 2009.
- What is the lowest public social spending as share of gdp recorded in Hungary?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.5% in 2019.
- How does Hungary rank for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Hungary ranks 28th out of 42 countries with data for 2024.
- Is public social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Hungary?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Hungary 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 — 26 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.