Greece vs Sweden: Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita
Greece
48.0%
in 2024
Sweden
49.3%
in 2024
Greece rank
18th
Sweden rank
15th
Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita over time
- Greece
- Sweden
How they compare
Sweden currently reports 49.3% against 48.0% in Greece, a difference of 1.3%.
The two have swapped places 11 times across 124 shared years of data; in 1880 it was Greece ahead.
Greece ranks 18th and Sweden ranks 15th of 151 countries.
Across the 15 decades both report, Greece averaged higher in 10 and Sweden in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Greece | Sweden | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 22.2% | 6.8% | 15.4% | Greece |
| 1890s | 22.3% | 6.9% | 15.4% | Greece |
| 1900s | 18.6% | 8.3% | 10.3% | Greece |
| 1910s | 19.2% | 7.7% | 11.5% | Greece |
| 1920s | 26.3% | 8.9% | 17.5% | Greece |
| 1930s | 22.3% | 11.3% | 11.0% | Greece |
| 1940s | 22.9% | 18.3% | 4.6% | Greece |
| 1950s | 22.6% | 21.1% | 1.5% | Greece |
| 1960s | 22.4% | 25.5% | 3.1% | Sweden |
| 1970s | 27.0% | 33.0% | 6.0% | Sweden |
| 1980s | 31.4% | 43.3% | 11.9% | Sweden |
| 1990s | 41.9% | 55.6% | 13.8% | Sweden |
| 2000s | 48.6% | 52.1% | 3.5% | Sweden |
| 2010s | 51.4% | 49.8% | 1.6% | Greece |
| 2020s | 53.3% | 49.6% | 3.7% | Greece |
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, Greece or Sweden?
- Sweden, at 49.3% against 48.0% in Greece as of 2024.
- What is the difference in government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita between Greece and Sweden?
- 1.3%, with Sweden ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Greece and Sweden?
- 124 years are reported by both, from 1880 to 2024.
- How do Greece and Sweden rank globally for government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita?
- Greece ranks 18th and Sweden ranks 15th 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.