Public social spending as share of GDP in Ireland
Ireland: Public social spending as share of GDP was 14.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
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 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Public social spending as share of GDP in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1930 | 3.7% | — |
| 1960 | 7.1% | +89.9% |
| 1961 | 7.2% | +1.5% |
| 1962 | 7.3% | +1.3% |
| 1963 | 7.6% | +4.4% |
| 1964 | 7.5% | -1.3% |
| 1965 | 7.8% | +4.1% |
| 1966 | 8.5% | +8.4% |
| 1967 | 8.7% | +2.4% |
| 1968 | 8.5% | -2.5% |
| 1969 | 8.9% | +5.1% |
| 1970 | 9.7% | +9.0% |
| 1971 | 10.2% | +5.5% |
| 1972 | 10.1% | -1.3% |
| 1973 | 11.0% | +8.8% |
| 1974 | 12.4% | +12.7% |
| 1975 | 13.9% | +12.4% |
| 1976 | 13.8% | -0.8% |
| 1977 | 13.3% | -3.4% |
| 1978 | 13.4% | +0.3% |
| 1979 | 13.8% | +3.1% |
| 1980 | 15.7% | +13.5% |
| 1981 | 15.8% | +0.7% |
| 1982 | 16.6% | +5.0% |
| 1983 | 16.7% | +0.7% |
| 1984 | 16.2% | -3.2% |
| 1985 | 20.4% | +26.2% |
| 1986 | 20.5% | +0.7% |
| 1987 | 19.8% | -3.5% |
| 1988 | 18.6% | -6.1% |
| 1989 | 17.1% | -7.9% |
| 1990 | 16.9% | -1.6% |
| 1991 | 17.8% | +5.4% |
| 1992 | 18.5% | +4.3% |
| 1993 | 18.5% | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 18.1% | -2.2% |
| 1995 | 17.6% | -3.0% |
| 1996 | 16.6% | -5.5% |
| 1997 | 15.5% | -6.5% |
| 1998 | 14.5% | -6.2% |
| 1999 | 13.7% | -5.9% |
| 2000 | 13.1% | -4.0% |
| 2001 | 13.9% | +6.2% |
| 2002 | 14.9% | +6.5% |
| 2003 | 15.4% | +3.8% |
| 2004 | 15.7% | +2.1% |
| 2005 | 15.8% | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 15.8% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 16.7% | +5.7% |
| 2008 | 20.0% | +19.2% |
| 2009 | 23.9% | +19.5% |
| 2010 | 24.1% | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 23.0% | -4.5% |
| 2012 | 22.8% | -0.8% |
| 2013 | 21.3% | -6.6% |
| 2014 | 19.5% | -8.6% |
| 2015 | 14.7% | -24.8% |
| 2016 | 14.8% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 13.6% | -7.8% |
| 2018 | 13.2% | -3.5% |
| 2019 | 12.7% | -3.5% |
| 2020 | 15.5% | +22.2% |
| 2021 | 13.6% | -12.6% |
| 2022 | 12.1% | -11.0% |
| 2023 | 13.4% | +11.1% |
| 2024 | 14.4% | +7.1% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 14.4% is below the median for high income countries, which is 22.3%, 64% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 14.4% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 23.0%, 62% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Public social spending as share of GDP in Ireland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | +89.9% | 3.7% | 7.1% |
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
More reference data data for Ireland
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0921 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.87 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 3.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.6 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 21.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.5015 (2050)
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 countries 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.
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About this data
Public social expenditure divided bt gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.