Public social spending as share of GDP in Poland
Poland: Public social spending as share of GDP was 23.1% in 2024. ▬ Flat
Public social spending as share of GDP in Poland, 1990–2024
Source: OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2024, public social spending as share of gdp in Poland stood at 23.1%.
That represents a change of up 5.5% on the previous year and up 13.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public social spending as share of gdp in Poland peaked at 23.9% in 1992 and was at its lowest, 14.1%, in 1990.
That places Poland 16th out of 42 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
Public social spending as share of GDP in Poland, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 14.1% | — |
| 1991 | 20.4% | +44.3% |
| 1992 | 23.9% | +17.4% |
| 1993 | 23.4% | -2.1% |
| 1994 | 22.4% | -4.6% |
| 1995 | 21.7% | -2.9% |
| 1996 | 21.9% | +0.8% |
| 1997 | 21.4% | -2.3% |
| 1998 | 20.6% | -3.6% |
| 1999 | 21.0% | +1.7% |
| 2000 | 20.1% | -4.3% |
| 2001 | 21.6% | +7.5% |
| 2002 | 21.7% | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 21.8% | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 21.1% | -3.3% |
| 2005 | 20.8% | -1.3% |
| 2006 | 20.6% | -1.3% |
| 2007 | 19.5% | -5.2% |
| 2008 | 20.1% | +3.3% |
| 2009 | 21.3% | +5.5% |
| 2010 | 20.8% | -2.1% |
| 2011 | 19.6% | -5.8% |
| 2012 | 19.9% | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 20.7% | +4.4% |
| 2014 | 20.3% | -2.0% |
| 2015 | 20.1% | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 21.2% | +5.2% |
| 2017 | 20.7% | -2.1% |
| 2018 | 20.3% | -2.2% |
| 2019 | 21.0% | +3.3% |
| 2020 | 23.5% | +12.0% |
| 2021 | 22.2% | -5.6% |
| 2022 | 20.7% | -6.5% |
| 2023 | 21.9% | +5.5% |
| 2024 | 23.1% | +5.5% |
Poland compared with similar countries
- Poland's 23.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 22.3%, 1.0× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Poland's 23.1% 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 Poland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | +44.3% | 14.1% | 20.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 21.1% | 14.1% | 23.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 20.9% | 19.5% | 21.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.5% | 19.6% | 21.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.3% | 20.7% | 23.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Poland
More reference data data for Poland
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.499 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 9.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.8896 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 9.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 8.77 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 5.77 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.57 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 43.86 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.84 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public social spending as share of gdp in Poland?
- Public social spending as share of gdp in Poland was 23.1% 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 Poland?
- The highest recorded value was 23.9% in 1992.
- What is the lowest public social spending as share of gdp recorded in Poland?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.1% in 1990.
- How does Poland rank for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Poland ranks 16th out of 42 countries with data for 2024.
- Is public social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Poland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Poland 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 — 35 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.