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.
Public social spending as share of GDP in Sweden, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 0.7% | — |
| 1890 | 0.8% | +18.1% |
| 1900 | 0.8% | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 1.0% | +21.2% |
| 1920 | 1.1% | +10.7% |
| 1930 | 2.6% | +127.2% |
| 1960 | 10.2% | +295.3% |
| 1961 | 10.2% | -0.5% |
| 1962 | 10.5% | +3.1% |
| 1963 | 11.7% | +11.6% |
| 1964 | 11.8% | +0.9% |
| 1965 | 12.5% | +5.4% |
| 1966 | 13.3% | +6.6% |
| 1967 | 14.4% | +8.3% |
| 1968 | 15.4% | +7.3% |
| 1969 | 15.6% | +1.1% |
| 1970 | 15.8% | +1.5% |
| 1971 | 17.4% | +9.6% |
| 1972 | 17.4% | +0.1% |
| 1973 | 17.4% | +0.1% |
| 1974 | 19.9% | +14.4% |
| 1975 | 20.0% | +0.5% |
| 1976 | 20.9% | +4.6% |
| 1977 | 23.2% | +10.6% |
| 1978 | 23.8% | +2.9% |
| 1979 | 23.8% | -0.2% |
| 1980 | 24.5% | +3.2% |
| 1981 | 25.2% | +2.8% |
| 1982 | 25.2% | -0.3% |
| 1983 | 25.5% | +1.2% |
| 1984 | 24.7% | -3.0% |
| 1985 | 26.6% | +7.8% |
| 1986 | 26.7% | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 27.0% | +0.8% |
| 1988 | 27.4% | +1.7% |
| 1989 | 26.8% | -2.1% |
| 1990 | 26.9% | +0.2% |
| 1991 | 28.7% | +6.7% |
| 1992 | 32.3% | +12.4% |
| 1993 | 34.4% | +6.7% |
| 1994 | 33.2% | -3.5% |
| 1995 | 30.8% | -7.1% |
| 1996 | 30.4% | -1.5% |
| 1997 | 29.1% | -4.3% |
| 1998 | 28.8% | -0.8% |
| 1999 | 28.3% | -1.9% |
| 2000 | 27.0% | -4.6% |
| 2001 | 27.1% | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 27.7% | +2.2% |
| 2003 | 28.5% | +2.7% |
| 2004 | 28.0% | -1.7% |
| 2005 | 27.7% | -1.1% |
| 2006 | 27.0% | -2.6% |
| 2007 | 25.9% | -3.9% |
| 2008 | 26.2% | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 28.2% | +7.5% |
| 2010 | 26.8% | -4.8% |
| 2011 | 26.4% | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 27.4% | +4.0% |
| 2013 | 28.1% | +2.6% |
| 2014 | 27.9% | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 27.4% | -1.6% |
| 2016 | 27.7% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 27.2% | -1.6% |
| 2018 | 27.0% | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 26.3% | -2.5% |
| 2020 | 27.9% | +6.2% |
| 2021 | 26.3% | -5.8% |
| 2022 | 25.3% | -4.0% |
| 2023 | 25.8% | +1.9% |
| 2024 | 26.1% | +1.3% |
Sweden compared with similar countries
- Sweden's 26.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 22.3%, 1.2× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Sweden's 26.1% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 23.0%, 1.1× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Public social spending as share of GDP in Sweden 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 | +295.3% | 2.6% | 10.2% |
| 1930 | +127.2% | 1.1% | 2.6% |
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
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4328 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2237 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.68 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2063 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.68 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.9766 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.13 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 8.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.12 (2050)
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.
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About this data
Public social expenditure divided bt gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.