Belgium vs Italy: Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita
Belgium
54.5%
in 2024
Italy
50.6%
in 2024
Belgium rank
9th
Italy rank
11th
Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita over time
- Belgium
- Italy
How they compare
Belgium currently reports 54.5% against 50.6% in Italy, a difference of 3.9%.
That makes Belgium's figure about 1.1 times Italy's.
The two have swapped places 13 times across 142 shared years of data; in 1862 it was Italy ahead.
Belgium ranks 9th and Italy ranks 11th of 151 countries.
Across the 17 decades both report, Belgium averaged higher in 10 and Italy in 7.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Belgium | Italy | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860s | 5.1% | 11.2% | 6.0% | Italy |
| 1870s | 5.9% | 11.4% | 5.5% | Italy |
| 1880s | 7.6% | 14.8% | 7.2% | Italy |
| 1890s | 9.8% | 14.0% | 4.3% | Italy |
| 1900s | 10.3% | 12.8% | 2.5% | Italy |
| 1910s | 10.6% | 13.6% | 3.0% | Italy |
| 1920s | 25.4% | 14.5% | 10.8% | Belgium |
| 1930s | 22.0% | 20.9% | 1.2% | Belgium |
| 1940s | 29.3% | 19.8% | 9.4% | Belgium |
| 1950s | 22.0% | 17.4% | 4.6% | Belgium |
| 1960s | 24.1% | 20.6% | 3.5% | Belgium |
| 1970s | 48.1% | 37.0% | 11.2% | Belgium |
| 1980s | 57.5% | 48.2% | 9.3% | Belgium |
| 1990s | 52.3% | 52.4% | 0.1% | Italy |
| 2000s | 50.1% | 48.1% | 2.1% | Belgium |
| 2010s | 53.9% | 49.6% | 4.3% | Belgium |
| 2020s | 54.7% | 54.5% | 0.2% | Belgium |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita, Belgium or Italy?
- Belgium, at 54.5% against 50.6% in Italy as of 2024.
- What is the difference in government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita between Belgium and Italy?
- 3.9%, with Belgium ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Belgium and Italy?
- 142 years are reported by both, from 1862 to 2024.
- How do Belgium and Italy rank globally for government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita?
- Belgium ranks 9th and Italy ranks 11th of 151 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Sum of all the money spent by the government on goods and services, as a percentage of GDP. It includes interest paid on government debt.