What is public social spending as share of gdp in Ireland?

Public social spending as share of gdp in Ireland was 14.4% 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 Ireland?

The highest recorded value was 24.1% in 2010.

What is the lowest public social spending as share of gdp recorded in Ireland?

The lowest recorded value was 3.7% in 1930.

How does Ireland rank for public social spending as share of gdp?

Ireland ranks 36th out of 42 regions with data for 2024.

Is public social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Ireland?

Over the last ten years it is down 26.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Ireland 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.

Public social spending as share of GDP in Ireland

Name: Public social spending as share of GDP in Ireland
Creator: OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Ireland: Public social spending as share of GDP was 14.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)

14.4%

Change on year

up 7.1%

Rank

36th

of 42 regions

All-time high

24.1%

in 2010

All-time low

3.7%

in 1930

Years of data

1930–2024

Public social spending as share of GDP in Ireland, 1930–2024

Source: OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.

Analysis

Ireland recorded 14.4% for public social spending as share of gdp in 2024.

That represents a change of up 7.1% on the previous year and down 26.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, public social spending as share of gdp in Ireland peaked at 24.1% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 3.7%, in 1930.

Ireland ranks 36th of 42 regions on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1930s	3.7%	3.7%	3.7%	1
1960s	7.9%	7.1%	8.9%	10
1970s	12.2%	9.7%	13.9%	10
1980s	17.7%	15.7%	20.5%	10
1990s	16.8%	13.7%	18.5%	10
2000s	16.5%	13.1%	23.9%	10
2010s	18.0%	12.7%	24.1%	10
2020s	13.8%	12.1%	15.5%	5

Countries ranked near Ireland

33 Israel 16.3% compare
34 Switzerland 16.0% compare
35 South Korea 15.3% compare
37 Colombia 14.1% compare
38 Chile 12.9% compare
39 Costa Rica 12.6% compare

See the full ranking of 42 places →

More reference data data for Ireland

Spring temperature anomalies 1.01 °C (2026)
Summer temperature anomalies 1.31 °C (2026)
Temperature anomalies by month -0.6528 °C (2026)
Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
Autumn temperature anomalies -0.5528 °C (2025)
Winter temperature anomalies 0.8957 °C (2025)
Consumer price index 130.04 2010 = 100 (2025)
Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
Competitive elections 1 (2025)
Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is public social spending as share of gdp in Ireland?: Public social spending as share of gdp in Ireland was 14.4% 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 Ireland?: The highest recorded value was 24.1% in 2010.
What is the lowest public social spending as share of gdp recorded in Ireland?: The lowest recorded value was 3.7% in 1930.
How does Ireland rank for public social spending as share of gdp?: Ireland ranks 36th out of 42 regions with data for 2024.
Is public social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Ireland?: Over the last ten years it is down 26.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Ireland 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

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About this data

Indicator: Public social spending as share of GDP
Unit: % of GDP
Source: OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 42 places, 1,937 data points, 1880–2024
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Public social expenditure divided bt gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.