Public social spending as share of GDP in Sweden
Sweden: Public social spending as share of GDP was 26.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Public social spending as share of GDP in Sweden, 1880–2024
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 Sweden stood at 26.1%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.3% on the previous year and down 6.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public social spending as share of gdp in Sweden peaked at 34.4% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 1880.
That places Sweden 8th out of 42 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 71 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 1 |
| 1890s | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 1 |
| 1900s | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% | 1 |
| 1910s | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1 |
| 1920s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1 |
| 1930s | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.6% | 1 |
| 1960s | 12.6% | 10.2% | 15.6% | 10 |
| 1970s | 20.0% | 15.8% | 23.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 26.0% | 24.5% | 27.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 30.3% | 26.9% | 34.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 27.3% | 25.9% | 28.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.2% | 26.3% | 28.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.3% | 25.3% | 27.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
More reference data data for Sweden
- Spring temperature anomalies 4.22 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 1.58 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -3.74 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 2.27 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 3.13 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 138.19 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public social spending as share of gdp in Sweden?
- Public social spending as share of gdp in Sweden was 26.1% 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 Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 34.4% in 1993.
- What is the lowest public social spending as share of gdp recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 1880.
- How does Sweden rank for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Sweden ranks 8th out of 42 countries with data for 2024.
- Is public social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sweden 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 — 71 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.