Public social spending as share of GDP in Netherlands
Netherlands: Public social spending as share of GDP was 18.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Public social spending as share of GDP in Netherlands, 1880–2024
Source: OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Netherlands recorded 18.9% for public social spending as share of gdp in 2024.
The figure is up 2.7% on the previous year and down 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public social spending as share of gdp in Netherlands peaked at 27.0% in 1983 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 1880.
That places Netherlands 27th 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 71 years of available data.
Public social spending as share of GDP in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 0.3% | — |
| 1890 | 0.3% | +3.4% |
| 1900 | 0.4% | +30.0% |
| 1910 | 0.4% | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 1.0% | +153.8% |
| 1930 | 1.0% | +4.0% |
| 1960 | 10.1% | +876.1% |
| 1961 | 10.9% | +8.4% |
| 1962 | 11.6% | +6.9% |
| 1963 | 13.4% | +15.3% |
| 1964 | 13.5% | +0.9% |
| 1965 | 14.7% | +8.7% |
| 1966 | 15.9% | +8.3% |
| 1967 | 17.0% | +6.7% |
| 1968 | 17.6% | +3.6% |
| 1969 | 18.5% | +5.0% |
| 1970 | 19.3% | +4.4% |
| 1971 | 20.1% | +4.1% |
| 1972 | 20.9% | +4.1% |
| 1973 | 21.5% | +2.9% |
| 1974 | 22.9% | +6.7% |
| 1975 | 25.4% | +10.7% |
| 1976 | 25.4% | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 22.0% | -13.7% |
| 1978 | 22.9% | +4.1% |
| 1979 | 23.6% | +3.3% |
| 1980 | 24.4% | +3.1% |
| 1981 | 25.0% | +2.7% |
| 1982 | 26.6% | +6.5% |
| 1983 | 27.0% | +1.4% |
| 1984 | 25.7% | -5.0% |
| 1985 | 25.1% | -2.4% |
| 1986 | 24.7% | -1.7% |
| 1987 | 24.7% | +0.3% |
| 1988 | 24.4% | -1.3% |
| 1989 | 24.0% | -1.5% |
| 1990 | 25.4% | +5.9% |
| 1991 | 25.4% | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 25.9% | +1.9% |
| 1993 | 26.0% | +0.6% |
| 1994 | 24.6% | -5.6% |
| 1995 | 22.5% | -8.4% |
| 1996 | 21.5% | -4.4% |
| 1997 | 20.9% | -2.8% |
| 1998 | 21.0% | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 20.3% | -3.4% |
| 2000 | 19.7% | -3.0% |
| 2001 | 19.8% | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 20.5% | +3.8% |
| 2003 | 21.2% | +3.1% |
| 2004 | 20.9% | -1.0% |
| 2005 | 20.5% | -2.1% |
| 2006 | 17.2% | -16.1% |
| 2007 | 16.5% | -3.9% |
| 2008 | 16.3% | -1.6% |
| 2009 | 17.8% | +9.8% |
| 2010 | 18.3% | +2.6% |
| 2011 | 18.4% | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 18.9% | +2.6% |
| 2013 | 19.1% | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 19.0% | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 18.6% | -2.2% |
| 2016 | 18.4% | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 17.9% | -2.7% |
| 2018 | 17.6% | -2.0% |
| 2019 | 17.5% | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 21.2% | +20.9% |
| 2021 | 19.8% | -6.7% |
| 2022 | 17.7% | -10.3% |
| 2023 | 18.4% | +3.8% |
| 2024 | 18.9% | +2.7% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 18.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 22.3%, 85% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 18.9% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 23.0%, 82% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Public social spending as share of GDP in Netherlands 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 | +876.1% | 1.0% | 10.1% |
| 1920 | +153.8% | 0.4% | 1.0% |
| 1900 | +30.0% | 0.3% | 0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 1 |
| 1890s | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 1 |
| 1900s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 1 |
| 1910s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 1 |
| 1920s | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1 |
| 1930s | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1 |
| 1960s | 14.3% | 10.1% | 18.5% | 10 |
| 1970s | 22.4% | 19.3% | 25.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 25.2% | 24.0% | 27.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 23.3% | 20.3% | 26.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 19.0% | 16.3% | 21.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.4% | 17.5% | 19.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.2% | 17.7% | 21.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
More reference data data for Netherlands
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.5851 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.79 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1102 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.79 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 5.83 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 3.59 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 18.47 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.6002 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public social spending as share of gdp in Netherlands?
- Public social spending as share of gdp in Netherlands was 18.9% 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 Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 27.0% in 1983.
- What is the lowest public social spending as share of gdp recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 1880.
- How does Netherlands rank for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Netherlands ranks 27th out of 42 countries with data for 2024.
- Is public social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Netherlands 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.