Public social spending as share of GDP in Luxembourg
Luxembourg: Public social spending as share of GDP was 24.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Public social spending as share of GDP in Luxembourg, 1980–2024
Source: OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Luxembourg recorded 24.0% for public social spending as share of gdp in 2024. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.4% on the previous year and up 17.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public social spending as share of gdp in Luxembourg peaked at 24.0% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 18.8%, in 1989.
That places Luxembourg 14th out of 42 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Public social spending as share of GDP in Luxembourg, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 20.1% | — |
| 1981 | 21.5% | +7.0% |
| 1982 | 20.8% | -3.2% |
| 1983 | 21.0% | +0.8% |
| 1984 | 19.8% | -5.8% |
| 1985 | 19.6% | -1.0% |
| 1986 | 19.0% | -3.2% |
| 1987 | 19.8% | +4.5% |
| 1988 | 19.4% | -2.1% |
| 1989 | 18.8% | -3.3% |
| 1990 | 19.0% | +1.1% |
| 1991 | 19.3% | +1.6% |
| 1992 | 19.6% | +1.8% |
| 1993 | 20.0% | +1.6% |
| 1994 | 19.8% | -0.9% |
| 1995 | 20.6% | +4.1% |
| 1996 | 20.6% | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 20.0% | -2.6% |
| 1998 | 20.2% | +0.9% |
| 1999 | 19.8% | -2.0% |
| 2000 | 18.8% | -5.2% |
| 2001 | 20.3% | +8.0% |
| 2002 | 21.5% | +5.9% |
| 2003 | 22.8% | +5.9% |
| 2004 | 22.8% | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 22.6% | -1.0% |
| 2006 | 21.1% | -6.5% |
| 2007 | 19.6% | -7.1% |
| 2008 | 20.4% | +4.1% |
| 2009 | 22.4% | +9.6% |
| 2010 | 21.5% | -3.8% |
| 2011 | 20.9% | -3.1% |
| 2012 | 20.6% | -1.4% |
| 2013 | 20.5% | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 20.5% | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 20.2% | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 20.0% | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 20.5% | +2.5% |
| 2018 | 20.8% | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 21.3% | +2.4% |
| 2020 | 23.9% | +12.0% |
| 2021 | 21.5% | -9.9% |
| 2022 | 22.1% | +2.6% |
| 2023 | 23.4% | +5.9% |
| 2024 | 24.0% | +2.4% |
Luxembourg compared with similar countries
- Luxembourg's 24.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 22.3%, 1.1× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Luxembourg's 24.0% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 23.0%, 1.0× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 20.0% | 18.8% | 21.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 19.9% | 19.0% | 20.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 21.2% | 18.8% | 22.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.7% | 20.0% | 21.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.0% | 21.5% | 24.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Luxembourg
More reference data data for Luxembourg
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.041 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0209 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.1381 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0065 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.1381 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1376 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.099 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.1147 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.6709 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0353 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public social spending as share of gdp in Luxembourg?
- Public social spending as share of gdp in Luxembourg was 24.0% 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 Luxembourg?
- The highest recorded value was 24.0% in 2024.
- What is the lowest public social spending as share of gdp recorded in Luxembourg?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.8% in 1989.
- How does Luxembourg rank for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Luxembourg ranks 14th out of 42 countries with data for 2024.
- Is public social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Luxembourg?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Luxembourg 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 — 45 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.