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Public social spending as share of GDP in Spain

Spain: Public social spending as share of GDP was 25.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
25.9%
Change on year
down 0.2%
World rank
9th
of 42 countries
All-time high
30.6%
in 2020
All-time low
15.0%
in 1980
Years of data
45
1980–2024

Public social spending as share of GDP in Spain, 1980–2024

01020301980200220241980: 15 % of GDP1981: 16.1 % of GDP1982: 16.1 % of GDP1983: 16.8 % of GDP1984: 16.6 % of GDP1985: 17.1 % of GDP1986: 16.8 % of GDP1987: 16.7 % of GDP1988: 17.2 % of GDP1989: 17.3 % of GDP1990: 19.2 % of GDP1991: 19.9 % of GDP1992: 21 % of GDP1993: 22.3 % of GDP1994: 21.3 % of GDP1995: 20.6 % of GDP1996: 20.5 % of GDP1997: 20 % of GDP1998: 19.9 % of GDP1999: 19.7 % of GDP2000: 19 % of GDP2001: 18.6 % of GDP2002: 18.9 % of GDP2003: 19.5 % of GDP2004: 19.7 % of GDP2005: 19.9 % of GDP2006: 20 % of GDP2007: 20.2 % of GDP2008: 21.4 % of GDP2009: 24.7 % of GDP2010: 24.9 % of GDP2011: 25.5 % of GDP2012: 25.4 % of GDP2013: 25.6 % of GDP2014: 25.2 % of GDP2015: 24.5 % of GDP2016: 24 % of GDP2017: 23.6 % of GDP2018: 23.7 % of GDP2019: 24.3 % of GDP2020: 30.6 % of GDP2021: 28.4 % of GDP2022: 26 % of GDP2023: 25.9 % of GDP2024: 25.9 % 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 Spain stood at 25.9%.

The figure is down 0.2% on the previous year and up 2.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, public social spending as share of gdp in Spain peaked at 30.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 15.0%, in 1980.

That places Spain 9th out of 42 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 16.6% 15.0% 17.3% 10
1990s 20.4% 19.2% 22.3% 10
2000s 20.2% 18.6% 24.7% 10
2010s 24.7% 23.6% 25.6% 10
2020s 27.4% 25.9% 30.6% 5

Countries ranked near Spain

  1. 6 Italy 27.6% compare
  2. 7 Denmark 26.4% compare
  3. 8 Sweden 26.1% compare
  4. 10 Japan 24.7% compare
  5. 11 New Zealand 24.6% compare
  6. 12 Portugal 24.1% compare

See the full ranking of 42 places →

More reference data data for Spain

All data for Spain →

Frequently asked questions

What is public social spending as share of gdp in Spain?
Public social spending as share of gdp in Spain was 25.9% 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 Spain?
The highest recorded value was 30.6% in 2020.
What is the lowest public social spending as share of gdp recorded in Spain?
The lowest recorded value was 15.0% in 1980.
How does Spain rank for public social spending as share of gdp?
Spain ranks 9th out of 42 countries with data for 2024.
Is public social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Spain?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Spain 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

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.