Public social spending as share of GDP in Poland

Poland: Public social spending as share of GDP was 23.1% in 2024. ▬ Flat

Latest (2024)
23.1%
Change on year
up 5.5%
World rank
16th
of 42 countries
All-time high
23.9%
in 1992
All-time low
14.1%
in 1990
Years of data
35
1990–2024

Public social spending as share of GDP in Poland, 1990–2024

05101520251990200720241990: 14.1 % of GDP1991: 20.4 % of GDP1992: 23.9 % of GDP1993: 23.4 % of GDP1994: 22.4 % of GDP1995: 21.7 % of GDP1996: 21.9 % of GDP1997: 21.4 % of GDP1998: 20.6 % of GDP1999: 21 % of GDP2000: 20.1 % of GDP2001: 21.6 % of GDP2002: 21.7 % of GDP2003: 21.8 % of GDP2004: 21.1 % of GDP2005: 20.8 % of GDP2006: 20.6 % of GDP2007: 19.5 % of GDP2008: 20.1 % of GDP2009: 21.3 % of GDP2010: 20.8 % of GDP2011: 19.6 % of GDP2012: 19.9 % of GDP2013: 20.7 % of GDP2014: 20.3 % of GDP2015: 20.1 % of GDP2016: 21.2 % of GDP2017: 20.7 % of GDP2018: 20.3 % of GDP2019: 21 % of GDP2020: 23.5 % of GDP2021: 22.2 % of GDP2022: 20.7 % of GDP2023: 21.9 % of GDP2024: 23.1 % of GDP

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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

  1. 13 Norway 24.1% compare
  2. 15 Greece 23.7% compare
  3. 17 Slovenia 23.0% compare
  4. 18 United Kingdom 23.0% compare
  5. 19 Croatia 22.5% compare

See the full ranking of 42 places →

More reference data data for Poland

All data for Poland →

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

Indicator
Public social spending as share of GDP
Unit
% of GDP
Source
OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
42 places, 1,937 data points, 1880–2024
Last refreshed

Public social expenditure divided bt gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.