Public social spending as share of GDP in Norway
Norway: Public social spending as share of GDP was 24.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Public social spending as share of GDP in Norway, 1880–2024
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 Norway is 24.1%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 7.8% on the previous year and up 6.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public social spending as share of gdp in Norway peaked at 28.0% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.9%, in 1890.
Norway ranks 13th of 42 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Public social spending as share of GDP in Norway, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 1.1% | — |
| 1890 | 0.9% | -11.2% |
| 1900 | 1.2% | +30.5% |
| 1910 | 1.2% | -4.8% |
| 1920 | 1.1% | -7.6% |
| 1930 | 2.4% | +119.3% |
| 1960 | 6.0% | +152.3% |
| 1961 | 6.2% | +3.2% |
| 1962 | 6.8% | +8.9% |
| 1963 | 7.1% | +4.8% |
| 1964 | 7.3% | +3.1% |
| 1965 | 7.8% | +6.4% |
| 1966 | 8.6% | +10.3% |
| 1967 | 9.2% | +6.6% |
| 1968 | 9.7% | +5.5% |
| 1969 | 10.3% | +6.7% |
| 1970 | 12.4% | +20.0% |
| 1971 | 13.4% | +7.9% |
| 1972 | 14.3% | +7.2% |
| 1973 | 14.7% | +2.2% |
| 1974 | 14.3% | -2.2% |
| 1975 | 15.0% | +4.5% |
| 1976 | 15.5% | +3.8% |
| 1977 | 15.9% | +2.4% |
| 1978 | 16.7% | +5.0% |
| 1979 | 16.9% | +1.3% |
| 1980 | 16.1% | -4.8% |
| 1981 | 16.1% | -0.3% |
| 1985 | 17.2% | +7.0% |
| 1988 | 20.0% | +16.1% |
| 1989 | 20.9% | +4.5% |
| 1990 | 21.6% | +3.3% |
| 1991 | 22.5% | +4.2% |
| 1992 | 23.3% | +4.0% |
| 1993 | 23.3% | -0.4% |
| 1994 | 23.1% | -0.8% |
| 1995 | 22.5% | -2.6% |
| 1996 | 21.7% | -3.5% |
| 1997 | 21.2% | -2.3% |
| 1998 | 22.6% | +6.8% |
| 1999 | 22.5% | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 20.4% | -9.5% |
| 2001 | 21.2% | +4.0% |
| 2002 | 22.7% | +6.9% |
| 2003 | 23.6% | +4.1% |
| 2004 | 22.2% | -5.8% |
| 2005 | 20.7% | -7.0% |
| 2006 | 19.4% | -6.1% |
| 2007 | 19.5% | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 19.2% | -1.8% |
| 2009 | 22.4% | +16.9% |
| 2010 | 22.0% | -1.8% |
| 2011 | 21.4% | -2.5% |
| 2012 | 21.3% | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 21.8% | +2.1% |
| 2014 | 22.7% | +4.2% |
| 2015 | 24.5% | +8.1% |
| 2016 | 25.8% | +5.3% |
| 2017 | 25.0% | -3.4% |
| 2018 | 24.1% | -3.5% |
| 2019 | 25.1% | +4.0% |
| 2020 | 28.0% | +11.7% |
| 2021 | 23.4% | -16.5% |
| 2022 | 18.5% | -20.6% |
| 2023 | 22.3% | +20.3% |
| 2024 | 24.1% | +7.8% |
Norway compared with similar countries
- Norway's 24.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 22.3%, 1.1× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Norway's 24.1% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 23.0%, 1.0× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Public social spending as share of GDP in Norway 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 | +152.3% | 2.4% | 6.0% |
| 1930 | +119.3% | 1.1% | 2.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1 |
| 1890s | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1 |
| 1900s | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1 |
| 1910s | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1 |
| 1920s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1 |
| 1930s | 2.4% | 2.4% | 2.4% | 1 |
| 1960s | 7.9% | 6.0% | 10.3% | 10 |
| 1970s | 14.9% | 12.4% | 16.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 18.0% | 16.1% | 20.9% | 5 |
| 1990s | 22.4% | 21.2% | 23.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 21.1% | 19.2% | 23.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 23.4% | 21.3% | 25.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.3% | 18.5% | 28.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Norway
More reference data data for Norway
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.3703 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.3621 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0618 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.24 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.7734 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.48 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 6.9 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3366 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public social spending as share of gdp in Norway?
- Public social spending as share of gdp in Norway was 24.1% 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 Norway?
- The highest recorded value was 28.0% in 2020.
- What is the lowest public social spending as share of gdp recorded in Norway?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9% in 1890.
- How does Norway rank for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Norway ranks 13th out of 42 countries with data for 2024.
- Is public social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Norway?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Norway 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.